NC State’s Aziaha James is a gifted scorer. She keeps saving her best for visits from Duke, too
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Once again, N.C. State’s Aziaha James turned a matchup against neighboring rival Duke into a display of fearless scoring mentality.
And don’t bother looking for any complicated explanations with nuanced analysis of playing styles, Xs and Os or matchups, either.
“Duke and Carolina — them blues, it don’t sit right with me,” James said of the neighboring Atlantic Coast Conference foes.
Perhaps that’s the simplest answer after the 5-foot-10 senior went for a career-best 36 points to lift the 14th-ranked Wolfpack past the 10th-ranked Blue Devils 89-83 on Monday night. After all, James erupted for her previous high mark of 33 points against the Blue Devils on this same Reynolds Coliseum floor in January 2024.
James made 15 of 19 shots in this one, including 2 of 5 3-pointers, and scored 27 points after halftime as N.C. State (18-4, 10-1 ACC) rallied from 13 down early in the third quarter to win its seventh straight game. And James could have had an even bigger game; she made just 4 of 8 free throws despite coming in shooting 79.2% at the foul line this season.
Yet she stayed on the fearless attack, whether pulling up from 3-point range, burying off-dribble jumpers or putting her head down to push the ball in transition for a contested floater.
“She’s got confidence,” said coach Wes Moore, who leaned on James and Saniya Rivers to earn the program’s second Final Four appearance last year. “She makes things happen, which makes it easy on the ol’ coach when sometimes you can just get out of the way and let them go.”
James had quieter showings against Duke in last year’s second and third meetings, combining to go for 31 points on 11-for-34 shooting. Still, she has made 27 of 39 shots (.692) to score 69 points in the two home wins against the Blue Devils.
“She makes tough shots,” Duke coach Kara Lawson said. “She’s had a lot of games like that over her career. She’s a talented scorer. And when she gets going, it’s difficult.”
James scored 15 fourth-quarter points, the last coming with N.C. State leading by just three in the final minute. James took an inbounds pass from Zoe Brooks in the left corner then immediately cut toward the elbow toward a screen from Lorena Awou, who bumped defender Jadyn Donovan a step back as James curled into the paint.
She took a third dribble as she went right at 6-2 freshman Toby Fournier, launching an off-balance left-handed shot that banked cleanly through the net for an 86-81 lead with 35.9 seconds left to send Reynolds into a roar.
Duke never made it a one-possession game again.
“She’s amazing, as you can see,” Brooks said with a laugh. “She scores the ball in so many ways. You can’t guard her.”
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