Syracuse freshman Alyssa Latham sank two free throws with .1 of a second left in regulation to force overtime, but No. 12 North Carolina State held off the 19th-ranked Orange in the extra period and came away with a 75-71 women’s basketball win Thursday night at the Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, N.C.
Syracuse finishes the regular season with 23-6 record, 13-5 in the ACC. The Wolfpack improves to 23-5 overall, 12-5 ACC, and will get the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament with a win over Wake Forest on Sunday. The Orange are assured a top-four seed, which means a double-bye in the tournament. Virginia Tech has clinched the top seed.
Saniya Rivers scores 22 points for N.C. State, including a pair of crucial free throws with 10.9 seconds left in overtime to give the Wolfpack a four-point lead.
Dyaisha Fair scored 21 points for Syracuse, which was going for a school record for regular-season wins. Georgia Woolley and Izabel Varejao both added 14 points. Latham had 10 rebounds.
Mimi Collins had 15 points for the Wolfpack, now 7-2 in Top 25 games, and River Baldwin had 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Aziaha James’ layup with 1:44 left in overtime gave N.C. State a 70-69 lead and it led for the remainder.
Izabel Varejao hit a jumper and then converted a three-point play to cap an 8-0 run that put Syracuse up 60-56 with 6:19 to go in regulation. N.C. State took the lead when Rivers hit a 3 and then fed Baldwin in the lane for a layup that made it 66-64 with 29.5 seconds to go.
The Wolfpack scored the last eight points of the third quarter to take a 54-52 lead. Zoe Brooks hit a jumper at 1:13 to tie the game and Rivers had a pair of free throws in the closing seconds for the lead.
Fair had 11 points in the first quarter to give Syracuse a 25-21 lead but Baldwin scored four points in a 13-2 run that was capped by five points from Rivers for a 36-33 lead for N.C. State.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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