Saniya Rivers circled back toward the Wolfpack bench with an eight-point lead inside the final two minutes, keeping a melodic dribble alive as she looked to salt away a stunning upset over No. 2 UConn Sunday afternoon.
“M-V-P” chants began to rise from the raucous PNC Arena for Rivers and her remarkable double-double — she finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks — but the junior remained remarkably present, blowing past an overzealous Husky defender, gliding untouched for two and adding to her already lofty point total.
NC State shot 53 percent from the field, knocked down 22 free throws and led UConn for the entire final 15 minutes to secure a 92-81 victory Sunday, its first over UConn since 1998.
After losing their top four scorers a year ago, voters elected to keep NC State just outside of the AP Top 25, — a source of vocal discontent for the Wolfpack roster — and this volatility seemed to impact the Wolfpack early as they fell behind 13-6 inside the first five minutes. Madison Hayes would promptly knock down the Pack’s only triple of the opening quarter, but after a pair of Mimi Collins free throws narrowed the deficit to two, a 9-2 UConn spurt grew the Husky lead back near double-digits to close the frame.
The…
