Aziaha James made two free throws with 7 seconds left and No. 7 North Carolina State escaped with a 73-72 victory over Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Friday at Greensboro, N.C.
The Yellow Jackets failed to get off a shot on the final possession.
James scored 16 points to lead the top-seeded Wolfpack (25-5), who meet rival North Carolina in Saturday afternoon’s semifinals. Zoe Brooks added 14 points, Zamareya Jones had 13 and Tilda Trygger finished with 12.
Kara Dunn, who had 16 first-half points, and Tonie Morgan paced ninth-seeded Georgia Tech (22-10) with 21 points apiece.
Dani Carnegie made two free throws with 15 seconds left to put the Yellow Jackets ahead 72-71. Chazadi Wright and Carnegie both ended up with 12 points for Georgia Tech, which lost four straight before defeating Virginia Tech on Thursday.
No. 14 North Carolina 60, No. 22 Florida State 56
Alyssa Ustby’s 12 points and 18 rebounds helped North Carolina rally from a halftime deficit to defeat Florida State in Friday’s first quarterfinal.
Lexi Donarski had 12 points and teammate Reniya Kelly — who had been out for three games with an injury — was back in action and scored six of her 11 points in the fourth quarter. Indya Nivar added 10 points and Maria Gakdeng pulled down 16 rebounds for the Tar Heels, who shot 32.4 percent from the floor.
The fifth-seeded Tar Heels (27-6), who trailed 31-27 at halftime, have reached the semifinals for the first time since 2014.
Fourth-seeded Florida State (23-8), which won a two-point road decision against North Carolina in late January, was held to a season-low point total and shot 32.3 percent from the field. Makayla Timpson had 15 points and blocked eight shots, Ta’Niya Latson posted 13 points and O’Mariah Gordon notched 12 points.
–Field Level Media
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