North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
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No. 9 Women’s Basketball Wins Thriller Over No. 8 Tennessee
11/4/2025 7:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The No. 9/8 NC State women's basketball team came up with big plays down the stretch to defeat No. 8/9 Tennessee, 80-77, in the Ro Greensboro Invitational at First Horizon Coliseum. NC State had four players in double figures led by double-doubles by Khamil Pierre's 21 points and 14 rebounds and Zoe Brooks' 13 points and 11 boards. She was named the MVP of the event. The Pack's season opening victory marked the Pack's fourth consecutive and 12th in the last 13 years.
In the final 2.5 minutes of play, the lead changed four times and with 46 seconds left, Pierre came up with the go-ahead basket off a fast break. NC State came up with two stops on defense, Tilda Trygger came up with a big offensive board and Zamareya Jones came up clutch with two made free throws to pull out the three-point top 10 victory. Beating the press, NC State finished with fewer turnovers than the Lady Vols with 11 vs. 10.
In a game that resembled a track meet, the Pack and Lady Vols changed leads three times in the first quarter, as the Pack led 25-24 after one. Midway through the first, NC State got on a roll, making three straight field goals, including a 3-pointer by Trygger to lead by as many as six in the first. Trygger led the Pack with nine points after the first.
Tennessee began the second quarter on an 8-0 run and led by as many as 10. After a two-minute drought for the Pack, Trygger delivered with a basket through contact for an and-1 and Jones hit a tough jumper. The Pack made a pair of freebies in the remaining minute of the half to cut the deficit to four, as NC State trailed 44-40 at the half.
The Pack retook the lead with a Trygger layup off a Ky'she Lunan dish, who then followed with a 3-pointer for her first collegiate points. This sparked an 11-0 run and after a coast-to-coast layup by Lunan, the Pack led 58-50 with 5:05 left in the third for its largest lead of the game. The Lady Vols then went on a 7-0 run to cut the Pack lead to one until Pierre knocked down back-to-back jumpers. Following a Tennessee triple, NC State took a 63-62 lead going into the fourth.
Qadence Samuels helped the Pack go up by four with a 3-pointer, while Tennessee was in two-minute scoring drought to start the fourth. Tennessee then went on a 7-0 run to retake the lead with 3:36 left. Jones responded with a 3-pointer to tie at 72. The lead changed four times in the remaining 2:15 and Pierre delivered the go-ahead basket with 46 seconds left. The Pack came up with a stop on defense and after a miss by the Pack, Trygger came up with an offensive rebound and NC State was able to dribble out the ball before Jones was fouled with two seconds left. Jones sunk her two free throws and the Lady Vols were not able to get a shot off with 1.9 seconds on the clock. NC State squeezed out the 80-77 win.
PACK PERFORMERS
- Jones matched a pair of career highs with 18 points and five assists in the victory. The sophomore scored five clutch points in the game's final two minutes to help the Pack secure its win
- Pierre recorded her 46th career double-double in her first outing with the Wolfpack, scoring 21 points and grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds. The junior provided the go-ahead bucket with 46 seconds to play
- Trygger matched a career-high with 19 points in her sophomore season debut, also recording eight rebounds
- Brooks secured her fifth-career double-double in the victory with 13 points and matching a personal-best 11 rebounds. She also dished out five assists, tied with Jones for the team-high
- Samuels delivered on defense and finished with a game-high +16 +/-. She also had four points, three boards and two assists in 30 minutes
- Lunan led the way for the Pack off the bench with five points in her college debut
- Defensively, Pierre led NC State with three steals and Trygger recorded a team-high two blocks
- The Wolfpack edged the Lady Vols in assists (16-14), steals (7-6), blocks (5-4) and fast break points (12-6)
- The Pack picked up its 60th win over a top 10 opponent in program history
- The win improves NC State to 6-12 all-time against Tennessee and extends its winning streak over the Volunteers to two games
UPCOMING
NC State will stay on the road to play another neutral site ranked game, this time against No. 18 USC at the Ally Tipoff played in the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. That game will tipoff at 3 p.m. on ESPN. Tickets for the game can be purchased HERE.
