Kiara Leslie lifts No. 9 NC State over North Carolina 74-69

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Kiara Leslie scored 21 points and made the go-ahead jumper with 37.7 seconds remaining to help No. 9 North Carolina State beat North Carolina 74-69 on Sunday.

Leslie’s shot from the right elbow snapped a 68-68 tie as the Wolfpack (24-3, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) held on after losing an 11-point lead in the second half.

Kayla Jones scored 10 of her 14 points in the fourth quarter, making four free throws in the final 13.7 seconds, for N.C. State.

Elissa Cunane added 12 points and Aislinn Konig had 10 points for the Wolfpack.

Paris Kea scored a season-high 32 points on 11-of-17 shooting in her final home game for North Carolina (17-12, 8-7).

Shayla Bennett added 18 points, and Janelle Bailey had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Tar Heels.

North Carolina rallied from a 48-37 deficit to take a 52-50 lead early in the fourth quarter.

BIG PICTURE

N.C. State: The Wolfpack picked up an important victory during a stretch in which they are playing five ranked opponents in the final seven games of the regular season. N.C. State, which has won two straight games since getting blown out by No. 5 Notre Dame 95-72 on Monday, still has two Top 15 foes remaining.

North Carolina: The Tar Heels missed an opportunity to solidify their position for an at-large NCAA Tournament berth. They were hurt by the absence of third leading scorer Stephanie Watts (15.2 points per game), who missed her second consecutive game with a knee injury.

UP NEXT

N.C. State plays at No. 4 Louisville on Thursday night.

North Carolina gets a week off before wrapping up its regular season at Duke on March 3.