No. 9 NC State routs SMU to claim top seed in ACC Tournament

DALLAS (AP) — Aziaha James had 19 points and nine rebounds while Zoe Brooks also scored 19 as No. 9 N.C. State beat SMU 69-45 on Sunday to claim the top seed in the ACC Tournament.

Madison Hayes had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolfpack (24-5, 16-2), who shared the regular-season conference title with No. 3 Notre Dame. They closed the regular season winning four straight and 20 of the last 22.

Zanai Jones scored 17 to lead the Mustangs (10-20, 2-16), who finished their inaugural ACC season with 14 consecutive losses.

SMU was missing leading scorer Nya Robertson, averaging 18.5 points per game, out with an illness.

Takeaways

N.C. State: The Wolfpack appears headed for a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament following last year’s trip to the Final Four.

SMU: Jessica Peterson, who went into play averaging 10.4 points and 12.1 rebounds per game, had eight points and 10 rebounds. The Mustangs finished last in the ACC, the 16 conference losses setting a program record. SMU hasn’t beaten a ranked opponent since 2008.

Key moment

N.C. State bolted to a 15-2 lead 2½ minutes in and led by as many 25 points.

Key stat

The Wolfpack's Saniya Rivers recorded her seventh double-double this season, her first with single-digit points. The 6-1 guard had four points, 13 rebounds and a season-high 11 assists. She also had three steals.

Up next

The Wolfpack will play Friday in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.

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