RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Aziaha James scored each of her 19 points in the second half, and N.C. State pulled away from Chattanooga for a 64-45 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

What You Need To Know

  • N.C. State cruised past Chattanooga 64-45 on Saturday in Raleigh

  • Aziaha James had 19 points, Saniya Rivers 16 points, and River Baldwin 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolfpack

  • N.C. State on Monday faces Tennessee, led by ex-Wolfpack coach Kellie Harper

Saniya Rivers scored 16 points and River Baldwin had 10 points and 11 rebounds, boosting N.C. State coach Wes Moore to a victory against his former team.

Next up for No. 3 seed N.C. State (28-6) is ex-Wolfpack coach Kellie Harper and sixth-seeded Tennessee (20-12) on Monday. The Lady Vols advanced with a 92-63 victory over Green Bay.

The winner goes to the Sweet 16 in Portland, Oregon.

Jada Guinn scored 13 points for Chattanooga (28-5), which had lost only once previously in 2024. Raven Thompson added 11 points.

The Mocs fell to 1-17 in NCAA Tournament play, with the lone victory coming when Moore was coaching the team. He coached 15 seasons at Chattanooga before leaving for the N.C. State job after the 2012-13 season.

Chattanooga, which shot 33% from the field, had scored at least 49 points in every game this season.

James was 0 for 4 from the field in the first half, but she drained five 3-pointers in the second half.

A 12-0 run in the third quarter stretched N.C. State’s advantage to 41-20.

Both teams shot below 31% from the floor in the first half, when they combined to go 3 for 24 on 3-pointers.

Official change

The NCAA changed one of the officials at the half because of a background conflict.

Tommi Paris was removed and replaced by Angelica Suffren, who had worked the first contest at the site.

“There was a switch of game officials at halftime of the Chattanooga-N.C. State first-round game because it was learned after the game had started that Umpire 2 Tommi Paris had a background conflict that, if known, would prevent her from working that assigned game,” the NCAA said in a statement.

An online profile for Paris says she received a master’s degree from Chattanooga. The NCAA asks all officials who are being considered for the NCAA Tournament to disclose school affiliations to avoid potential conflicts. In this case, it wasn't disclosed.

Suffren, who worked the earlier Green Bay-Tennessee game, was on the court for the second half of Chattanooga-N.C. State game.

The decision to send Suffren back out to the court came “because it provided the most on-court experience and allowed the game to maintain a full officiating crew, plus standby,” the NCAA’s statement said.

Suffren assessed a fourth-quarter technical foul on Chattanooga coach Shawn Poppie with the Mocs trailing 50-28.