No. 3 NC State beats No. 15 Louisville on Play4Kay night. Three takeaways from the win

N.C. State donned pink and black uniforms for the team’s annual Play4Kay game Monday night. Instead of the players’ names, the jerseys featured several encouraging words — strength, faith, courage — and those are qualities the Wolfpack needed in its game against No. 15 Louisville.

No. 3 NC State (20-2, 8-2 ACC) beat Louisville (19-4, 8-2 ACC), 77-67, at home to tie the Cardinals for second place in the league.

The Wolfpack looked unstoppable in the first half, when it took a 21-point lead over the Cardinals. A rough second half, though, put that lead to the test. Louisville cut the Wolfpack advantage to single digits late.

“I felt like we were strong mentally and physically today,” guard Madison Hayes said. “I think that motivated us; we got to pull this out, especially on Kay Yow night. We can’t let that happen.”

Aziaha James led all scorers with 28 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Hayes added 12 points, all from 3-point range, and 10 rebounds, her third double-double of the season.

N.C. State head coach Wes Moore called Hayes a Swiss Army Knife, while crediting James for much of the team’s early advantage.

“It helps when you’re knocking down shots, but we were also getting out in transition. We were getting to the rim or kicking and knocking down 3s, so that was good,” Moore said. “We’ll look at the film. Second half — I don’t know if we went back to maybe standing around a little bit and just kind of watching one person. We’ve got to get where we can put 40 minutes together and be fluid offensively.

“But, I’m proud of them. Tough win.”

Olivia Cochran topped the Cardinals, adding 17 points and 12 rebounds. Moore said she “kicked our butts.”

The team, however, appreciates the game for more than just basketball. It honored late head coach Kay Yow in its annual Play4Kay night, which has become a national event.

It provided a chance to celebrate cancer survivors, remember those who lost their battles and raise more than $500,000 for research and patient support.

“I think we’ve all been affected by cancer. Coach Yow was an unbelievable person; really cared about others,” Moore said. “Now, even after her passing, she is still making an unbelievable impact.”

The game meant a lot to Hayes on an individual level. She mentioned three loved ones who lost their lives to cancer. Her maternal grandfather died of lung cancer before she started college. Her paternal grandmother died last summer of leukemia.

Mississippi State’s Nikki McCray-Penson also died of breast cancer last summer. Hayes, prior to joining the Wolfpack, was McCray-Penson’s first recruit for the Buldogs.

“It was definitely a big game for us tonight, for sure,” Hayes said. “I wrote their names on my shoes and just played for them. That’s what they wanted for me.”

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Wolfpack offense explodes early

N.C. State’s offense against North Carolina last week looked stagnant and the shot selection left much to be desired. That wasn’t an in the first half against Louisville.

The Wolfpack scored 28 points in the first quarter and added another 19, courtesy of a 15-0 scoring run, in the second. It led by as many as 21.

James scored 16 in the first quarter alone.

“I saw the bucket is getting bigger and bigger every every possession,” James said. “[I kept] attacking, attacking, attacking. I know they were fouling, so just getting to the free throw line was helping us, as well.”

N.C. State’s early success is directly tied to getting in the paint, where it scored 20 points. Even when it didn’t score inside, it found success driving inside and passing to the outside for a 3.

Even though the offense cooled down after the break — Moore said the first half was “a whole lot more fun” — its hot shooting created an advantage Louisville could never overcome.

NC State defense lacks consistency

The Wolfpack entered the game as one of the best defenses in the ACC. It’s allowed an average of 59 points per game for the entire season and 63.2 ppg in conference play. The Pack had opportunities to put the Cardinals away, as seen by its double-digit lead, but its defensive effort was inconsistent.

N.C. State allowed Louisville to score 22 first-quarter points, which was just the second time it’s allowed 20 points or more in the last 15 quarters of play.

The defense dominated in the second quarter, holding the Cards to eight points and forced 11 straight misses. N.C. State also successfully pushed Louisville to the perimeter, an area of weakness, where it went 1 of 8 in the first half.

N.C. State’s efficiency dropped in the second half when Louisville busted the Pack defense and found the paint for 32 points, scoring 20 in the second half.

N.C. State still held the Cardinals to 25 of 68 from the field and 4 of 10 from deep, but Louisville took 10 additional shots from offensive rebounding (15) and Wolfpack turnovers (13) to stay in the game.

“Like I said, disappointed in the second half a little bit, but we’ll look at the film and try to figure it out,” Moore said.

Zoe Brooks is a playmaker

The freshman is no stranger to big games, but she put together arguably one of her most well-rounded performances for the Wolfpack on Monday.

Brooks made a difference in all phases of the game, finishing with eight points, three rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal. She looked comfortable competing against players with more size and experience, maneuvering around defenders for shots in the front court and muscling her way into traffic to grab rebounds.

She also put her teammates in position to succeed. Brooks found River Baldwin for a wide-open layup in the second quarter. She found Hayes for a 3-pointer 31 seconds later.

“She gives us that spark off the bench,” Hayes said of her teammates. “I think she’s really settled into the role that she’s in now. She scored a couple of big buckets down the stretch in the first half. That really helped us get us going. She’s just all over the place; her energy is great.”

Brooks hasn’t scored more than 10 points since the team’s loss at Miami, but she’s proven once again that her contributions go beyond scoring.