RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Saniya Rivers had 25 points and 11 rebounds, Aziaha James added 21 points and No. 22 NC State rallied in the fourth quarter to edge upset-minded Davidson 59-57 on Wednesday night.
NC State led 39-38 at halftime but fell behind 44-40 heading to the fourth quarter. The last tie was 52-all before Rivers scored the next six points for a 58-52 NC State lead. Davidson then rallied on a layup from Millie Prior and a 3-pointer by Katie Donovan with 41 seconds remaining.
Now leading 58-57, the Wolfpack worked the shot clock on their next possession but Rivers missed a jumper with 16 seconds left. After Davidson rebounded and both teams called timeout, Charlise Dunn missed a layup that would have given the Wildcats the lead.
James made 1 of 2 from the line with one second left to wrap it up for NC State (7-3).
Issy Morgan scored 20 points and Dunn had 17 for Davidson (3-7).
NC State shot 33% for the game and the Wildcats hit on 34% of their shots.
Rivers scored six points on 3-for-4 shooting and was the only NC State player to make a shot in the third quarter. Hayes went 6-for-6 at the free-throw line for the Wolfpack in the third and they trailed 44-40 heading to the fourth quarter.
The Wolfpack took a brief one-point lead early in the fourth quarter and later tied it up when Hayes made 1 of 2 from the line. Davidson's Tomisin Adenupet hit a 3-pointer for the lead, then a tip-in from Rivers and a three-point play by Zoe Brooks put NC State ahead 52-50 with 4 1/2 minutes remaining.
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