The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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MAY/JUNE 2024 ■ 39 the season. After the game, she explained that this performance was about setting the tone for the rest of the year. "People are looking down at us al- ready. We don't have anything to lose right now," James said Nov. 7. NC State embraced an underdog role after starting the season unranked by the Associated Press. Only five players returned from the 2023 squad, and they all averaged 10 points or more this year. James led the team with 16.8 points per game and received first-team All-ACC recognition. Her scoring outbursts became com- monplace. James scored at least 17 points in each of the team's first four games of the season. During her five NCAA Tournament games, which in- cluded matchups against three top-10 opponents, she averaged 23.4 points on 47.5 percent shooting. James started the Elite Eight con- test with Texas by hitting her first 5 attempts from three-point range and knocked down 50 percent of her triples in the tournament. "I've seen a lot of growth in Zaza since even the beginning of the year," graduate center River Baldwin said af- ter the Wolfpack's win over the Long- horns. "She has really stepped up as a leader, and we feed off her energy. The growth in taking smart shots and being a reliable defender has been great to see throughout the season. "And as you saw this weekend, she is that girl." James knocked down 22 of 26 free throws and dished out 16 assists over her last four games. When she took over in the second half against Stanford, putting up 25 points in a 77-67 victory, head coach Wes Moore started running every offensive set through her. "When you realize the player is on a roll like that — for instance, the shot she hit from the logo — you just have to keep going to her," Moore said following the Sweet 16 victory. "That's what we did." "The harder I work, the luckier I get," is one of Moore's favorite phrases to de- ploy in press conferences. In his opin- ion, James put in the work necessary over the offseason to make the jump that the national audience witnessed during the tournament run. "I'm used to seeing kids develop, and Aziaha is an unbelievable example," Moore said after the Wolfpack cut down the Elite Eight nets. Shouldering The Load Moore said that work ethic can build confidence, and it led to a breakout sea- son for James. The star guard averaged career highs in points (16.8), rebounds (4.6), assists (2.6), three-point percent- age (34.2) and free throw percentage (78.1). She leads by example on the court, playing with intensity on both ends of the floor. When she catches a team flat- footed on the opening jump ball, some- times she will steal the tip and take it to the basket for an easy layup. And when things get tough for the Pack in crunch time, even when James is shouldering the bulk of the offensive load, she is always quick to pick up her teammates. "I don't know what I would do with- out Zaza in my ears," junior point guard Saniya Rivers said after the Wolfpack beat Tennessee in the second round. "We probably hug at least three times a game. There's always going to be a point when I get in my head, and I've got to get out of that, especially being the point guard, and she's always there." When Moore subbed James out of the Final Four contest in the closing min- utes of NC State's historic 2023-24 sea- son, he continued to coach the guard up on what she could have done differently on the last play. The Pack's tournament run ended that night, but with James returning for her senior season, the program is ready to build on its success. "We're going to be a sisterhood," she said. "We're going to have that strong chemistry on and off the court, and it's going to be even stronger." ■ James averaged career highs in points (16.8), rebounds (4.6), assists (2.6), three-point percentage (34.2) and free throw percentage (78.1) during a breakout junior season. PHOTO BY ANDREW YATES/NC STATE ATHLETICS " I'm used to seeing kids develop, and Aziaha is an unbelievable example. " Coach Wes Moore