Notre Dame’s shattering dreams of a perfect regular season have put forward North Carolina State stars into the spotlight. If you have been following women’s basketball, you’d likely know Notre Dame faced a 95-104 loss against NC State. The matchup, however, was epic enough to catch the attention of not just basketball enthusiasts but NBA legends, too.

Magic Johnson, for one, couldn’t get enough of NC State’s star duo. “Aziaha James’s behind-the-back layup was unbelievable as NC State upset #1 Notre Dame in a double overtime classic… NC State guard Zoe Brooks led the team with 33 points and 10 rebounds in the 104-95 victory,” he wrote, calling it “the best women’’ college basketball game this season.” 

It’s clear that Magic Johnson could not have been more accurate with his opinion as Brooks was nothing short of spectacular, dropping 33 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and dishing out 3 assists. Meanwhile, Aziaha James made her mark with 20 points and 5 rebounds. But let’s not forget how wild this game was—momentum shifts and a fight to the very end.

NC State looked like they had it in the bag late in the fourth, but Notre Dame’s Sonia Citron had other ideas. With ice in her veins, she drained a miracle three-pointer to send the game into overtime. One extra session wasn’t enough, though. The battle raged into a second OT. And that’s when NC State took over for good. No wonder that even Kevin Garnett could not hold his excitement over this game. “Yo how about this NF vs NCST WOMEN’s GAME IS FIREEEEE… they are foing at it!!! GREAT FUXXIN GAME… They are balllllllin…” he wrote on Instagram.

Well, there is no doubt that irrespective of the outcome, both teams put their best foot forward. Just that NC State emerged superior in some aspects of the game.

What went wrong for Notre Dame against NC State?

If you ask Aziaha Brooks, she had the time of her life pulling off a win over Notre Dame. After the game, she spoke with ESPN’s Holly Rowe and didn’t hold back her excitement. “It’s a great feeling, you know. Great atmosphere, it’s a really big game. No. 1 team in the country and I just had a lot of fun today,” she said. But wait—how did the number one team in the country end up on the losing side?

Well, it all came down to the details. This wasn’t a one-sided affair by any means. The game saw a staggering 21 ties and 21 lead changes, proving just how evenly matched both teams were. From field goals to three-pointers, Notre Dame kept pace with NC State. But free throws made all the difference. While the Wolfpack made the most of their opportunities at the line, hitting 24-of-26, the Fighting Irish only had 10 attempts, making eight. Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey couldn’t ignore the impact of this stat.

“She (Brooks) got to the free-throw line 14 times individually, we didn’t even have that many as a team,” Ivey pointed out. “So she did a great job of getting downhill, playing with a ton of confidence and it was one of those nights for her, having a career-high. Hats off to her, she played well.” In the end, it wasn’t just about who played better—it was about who took advantage of every opportunity. And Magic Johnson didn’t hesitate to mention the names loud and clear.