Another weekend and another game shook up the women’s basketball national landscape as No. 1 Notre Dame fell on the road to No. 13 NC State 104-95 in double overtime Sunday.
“We always play together. We’re a sisterhood. We’re a family,” NC State sophomore Zoe Brooks said. “We know if we play together, we can beat anybody in the country.”
The Wolfpack showed that Sunday.
The Fighting Irish moved into the No. 1 spot last week after UCLA, the previous No. 1, dropped a game to USC (on the same weekend that then-No. 4 South Carolina was stunned at home by then-No. 7 UConn and then-No. 3 Texas held on against then-No. 5 LSU at home). A season after the women’s NCAA title game outdrew the men and several games pulled in record-breaking attendance and audiences, parity has been the overarching theme as no team has yet to separate itself on the national stage.
Sunday’s game — the first time an AP No. 1 team had been forced to double overtime since 2006 — featured 21 lead changes with no team ahead by more than seven points until the second overtime. But by the time it reached double OT, it was all NC State as the Wolfpack outscored the Fighting Irish 12-3 for the final margin.
The Wolfpack’s defense forced three turnovers and recorded four steals in the final five…
