RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Madson Hayes scored a career-high 20 points as No. 8 North Carolina State beat Clemson 77-59 on Sunday in the opener of Atlantic Coast Conference play for both teams.
Mimi Collins had 16 points and Jakia Brown-Turner added 10 for the Wolfpack (11-1, 1-0 ACC), who shot 50.8% en route to their seventh straight win overall and their 18 straight at home.
Amari Robinson scored 12 points to lead the Tigers (8-4, 0-1), who snapped a five-game winning streak.
N.C. State overcame a season-high 20 turnovers and trailed by as many as six in the first half, as Clemson built a 28-22 lead after one quarter. The Wolfpack closed the half on a 14-1 run to take an eight-point lead at the break.
Clemson trimmed the deficit to three late in the third quarter, but Hayes scored 12 as the Wolfpack closed out the game on a 21-6 run.
BIG PICTURE
Clemson: The Tigers couldn’t have asked for a better start on offense, but things started to falter after the 3-pointers stopped falling. Clemson hit just 2 of 18 from beyond the arc from the second quarter on. Still, coach Amanda Butler’s team was much more competitive on Sunday than in its previous two losses against ranked opponents this season.
N.C. State: The Wolfpack’s turnover woes definitely gives coach Wes Moore’s group something to work on before resuming ACC play later this month and is likely due to the absence of injured point guard Diamond Johnson. The Wolfpack ultimately still won by a comfortable margin without their top two scorers, a sign of their depth.
UP NEXT
Clemson: Hosts Radford on Tuesday for its final nonconference game of the season.
N.C. State: Has 1 1/2 weeks off before hosting rival Duke on Dec. 29.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25