Aziaha James goes for career-best 36 points to help No. 14 NC State beat No. 10 Duke

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Aziaha James scored a career-high 36 points to help No. 14 N.C. State beat No. 10 Duke 89-83 on Monday night.

James made 15 of 19 shots to go with six rebounds for the Wolfpack (18-4, 10-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), posting a career-best output for the second straight year against Duke. She had 33 points on 12-for-20 shooting against the Blue Devils here in a January 2024 win.

Ashlon Jackson scored 23 points with six 3-pointers for Duke (17-5, 8-2), who ran off 20 straight points in the first half and led by 13 early in the third before James got rolling with 27 second-half points.

This was also the annual Play 4 Kay game in honor of late Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow to raise money and awareness for cancer research. With Wolfpack fans trading their normal red for pink, the school announced nearly $478,000 raised on the court bearing Yow’s name.

Takeaways

Duke: The loss ended a five-game winning streak for Kara Lawson’s Blue Devils.

N.C. State: Wes Moore’s club has won seven straight and has lost just once since the start of December.

Key moment

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 corner, then drove across the paint for a contested score over freshman Toby Fournier for an 86-81 lead with 35.9 seconds left.

Key stat

N.C. State freshman post Lorena Awou came in averaging just 2.8 points, but she stepped up with six of her eight points in the fourth quarter — including the go-ahead stickback while being fouled with 2:57 left.

Up next

Duke plays its first home game in nearly three weeks when they host Clemson on Thursday. N.C. State visits No. 22 Florida State on Sunday.

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By AARON BEARD
AP Basketball Writer