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Set for its second consecutive NCAA Tournament, 13th-seeded ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ University women’s basketball will look for its first win in the Big Dance on Friday, March 16, when it takes on fourth-seeded NC State inside Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, N.C., at approximately 3 p.m. Friday’s game will air on ESPN2 and online at with John Brickley and Mike Thibault on the call. The game can also be heard over the airwaves on WSOE 89.3 FM with Mason Stalph and Drew Gentry calling the action from Raleigh.

TICKETS TO THE GAME
Tickets to Friday’s First Round games in Raleigh are available at . ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s designated fan sections are 209 and 210. Tickets for adults are priced at $17 with youth aged 17 and under priced at $12. Ticket orders include seats for both ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ/NC State and Maryland/Princeton beforehand at 12:30 p.m. Fans will be directed to park in the Reynolds Coliseum parking deck near Dail Soccer Field. 

PARTY WITH THE PHOENIX
Come join other ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ alums, parents and fans as they cheer on the Phoenix during the 2018 NCAA Tournament! The pregame social will take place at Aloft Hotels at 2100 Hillsborough Street in Raleigh. The free social will include food and drinks. To register for the event, .  

THE SERIES
NC State leads the series 9-1, but each of the last two games have been battles with the two teams splitting the contests. Last time the two met in December 2017, NC State outscored the Phoenix 25-12 in the second quarter and took a 36-22 lead to halftime, which is the largest halftime deficit ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ has faced all year. After an even third quarter, ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ trailed by 13 heading to the fourth at 51-38. In the final 10 minutes, ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ battled its way back within five with 1:27 to go with an 11-2 run after trailing by 14 with 4:55 left. But in the final 87 seconds, NC State’s Kaila Ealey hit eight free throws to seal the win.

Prior to this season’s meeting in Raleigh, the two also battled on Dec. 13, 2015, with ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ taking a 69-66 victory at Broughton High School. Trailing by one after three quarters, ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ outscored NC State 20-16 in the fourth quarter to take the victory. With just over a minute to play, Lauren Brown stole the ball and put ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ up 66-62 with a fast-break layup. Though NC State responded to come back within two with 37 seconds left, Maddie McCallie was fouled and hit two free throws to give ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ a 68-64 lead with eight seconds to play and Brown added two more free throws in the final seconds to close the win. 

ABOUT NC STATE
Led by Chelsea Nelson’s 13.4 points per game, the Wolfpack stands at 24-8 on the season after making a trip to the ACC Semifinals earlier this month thanks to victories over North Carolina and 18th-ranked Duke before falling to No. 4 Louisville 64-59 in its last game on March 3. Ranked in both national polls, NC State has won 12 of its last 15 games and is ranked sixth nationally in rebounding margin at +10.1. In comparison, ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ is 23rd in the country in the category at +7.9. NC State has rolled in most of its victories this year, winning 21 of its 24 games by 12 points or more.

LAST TIME OUT
ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ claimed its second consecutive CAA Tournament title on Saturday, March 10, with a 57-45 win over top-seeded Drexel in Philadelphia. The win makes ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ the second team in CAA Tournament history to have won the title without being seeded No. 1 or No. 2 with the first occasion coming in 1992 when third-seeded Old Dominion beat top-seeded East Carolina. ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ has now won six consecutive CAA Tournament games in a row with an average margin of victory of 21.0 points. In this year’s title game, the Phoenix hit six of its first seven shots from the floor to set the tone. Down the stretch, ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ led 49-31 heading to the fourth quarter, but Drexel went on a 14-2 run to open the frame and came within six at 51-45 with 4:01 to play. ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s defense settled back in, though, and didn’t allow Drexel another point the rest of the way en route to lifting the trophy.

WHAT’S ON THE LINE?
-With a win, ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ would earn its first NCAA Tournament victory in program history. Last year, the 11th-seeded Phoenix dropped a 75-62 contest to sixth-seeded West Virginia in College Park, Md.
-A victory would also push ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ to 14 wins in a row, which would extend what’s already the program’s longest Division I streak.
-A win would move ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ on to Sunday’s second-round matchup in Raleigh against fifth-seeded Maryland or 12th-seeded Princeton. Tip time would be determined after first-round action Friday. 
-Maryland is 25-7 this year and went 12-4 in Big Ten play. It lost three of its last four to Purdue, Minnesota and Michigan before winning its regular-season finale against Nebraska. In the tournament, it beat Indiana and Nebraska before falling to Ohio State.
-Princeton is 24-5 and went 12-2 in Ivy League play. It has won four in a row and beat Penn in the Ivy League title game to advance to the Big Dance. Not long ago in 2014-15, Princeton went 31-1 with the lone loss to Maryland in the second round of the NCAA Tourney.

CAUGHT FIRE
ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ has won 13 games in a row going back to Jan. 28, which sets a new program record for the longest streak of the Division I era. Before this one, ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ had won nine in a row last year from Dec. 17, 2016, to Jan. 15, 2017, on the way to the CAA regular season and tournament titles. The current streak is the first of the Division I era to go at least 10 games and the seventh going back to the start of the program in 1972.