ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Zamareya Jones scored 15 of her career-high 30 points in the first half to help build a double-digit lead and seventh-seeded North Carolina State went on to beat 10th-seeded Tennessee 76-61 on Friday night in the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament.
The Wolfpack (21-10) will play second-seeded Michigan (26-6) on the Wolverines' home court in the second round Sunday. They might be without All-ACC guard Zoe Brooks, who
injured his right leg in the quarter and didn't return.
The Lady Vols (16-14) have dropped eight straight games for the first time in the NCAA women's basketball era that dates to the 1981-82 season, and they matched the 2015-16 team's school record for losses.
Instead of starting the game with a sense of urgency, they seemed flat and North Carolina State took advantage.
The Wolfpack made their first eight shots — sometimes without much resistance — and went on a 15-0 run to take a 19-4 lead.
The Lady Vols rallied to trail by just seven after the opening quarter, but fell behind 40-29 after two quarters.
Talaysia Cooper slammed the basketball on the court at halftime after Tennessee gave up an offensive rebound and putback in the final seconds of the first half.
The Lady Vols' leading scorer, who was benched in the team's last game at the SEC Tournament, appeared to be agitated as she walked off the court while having an an animated conversation with a member of the team's staff.
Cooper put her frustrations aside to score 24 points and it didn't help that Janiah Barker, who's second on the team in scoring, was ruled out with an illness.
Mia Pauldo made a 3-pointer with 3:03 left in the third to pull the Lady Vols within two points, but North Carolina State outscored them 9-2 to start the fourth ahead 57-48.
The Lady Vols didn't put up much of a fight in the final quarter of their last game, a month after coach Kim Caldwell said last month there was “a lot of quit in us,” after a 93-50 loss at South Carolina.
Tennessee, which last won on Feb. 12 against Missouri, lost their previous seven games by an average of nearly 10 points and had another familiar result against the Wolfpack after opening the season with a three-point setback.
Pat Summitt led the Lady Vols to eight national titles and her legacy looms over Caldwell as she tries to pick up the pieces of the slumping program after her second season in charge.
The Wolfpack advanced for the eight time in their last nine NCAA Tournaments and will have to beat the Wolverines in front of their fans to reach the Sweet 16 for the seventh time under coach Wes Moore.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
