North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
2-1,0-0ACC
Kentucky
3-0,0-0SEC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | 29 | 27 | 16 | 21 | 93 |
| NC State | 24 | 20 | 14 | 20 | 78 |
11/8/2026 5:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 25 NC State women's basketball team fell to No. 14 Kentucky, 93-78, at the 2026 Ally Tipoff.
Kentucky made 18 3-pointers in the game and outrebounded the Pack 38-29.
Khamil Pierre led the game with 34 points, marking a new NC State high and third career 30-point contest. Six players scored at least six points.
UK could not miss to start the game, going 8-of-8 from the field, including 6-of-6 from beyond the arc to take an early 21-5 lead. NC State clawed its way back, closing out the quarter on a 17-8 run, including an 8-0 run. Pierre scored 18 points in the first quarter, tied for the second-most points in a quarter in school history (matching Dominique Wilson's 18 in the fourth quarter vs. Louisville in 2016). NC State trailed 29-24 after one.
The Pack continued to pick things up and started the second quarter on an 8-0 run. After Desiree Wooten took a charge to force a turnover, Qadence Samuels hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 32 with 8:03 left in the second. Samuels registered all eight of her points in the first half. UK responded with a 13-3 run and the Pack trailed 56-44 at the half.
In the first half, NC State shot 51.7 percent from the field (15-of-29) and 91.7 percent (11-of-12) from the line, while Wildcats shot 62.5 percent from the field (20-of-32) and 61.9 percent from 3-point range (13-of-21).
The Pack struggled shooting from the field in the second quarter, shooting 12.5 percent from the field in the quarter (2-of-16). NC State, however, was aggressive and got to the line 14 times, making 10 free throws but being outscored by UK 16-14 in the quarter.
Down 72-58 going into the fourth, NC State cut it to as many as 11 with 7:19 left in the game, but could not cut it down further.
The Pack will return home to host Liberty at Reynolds Coliseum on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. ACC Network Extra.
Head Coach Wes Moore Opening Statement Postgame
"It's kind of good news and bad news, I was proud of the fact that our kids competed and kept competing even though we dug a big hole. I think we were down 16 in the first half and we actually came back and took the lead. That was a positive, but again, digging yourself a big hole is never a good idea. You can say, 'hey it's one of the best shooting exhibitions I've seen by a team from the three-point line', but the point is, we're out there playing horse. We could guard them, but we have to do a better job of recognizing what's going on and whose hitting shoots. We have to guard the ball better so we don't help and leave people open. At some point, you have to recognize 'hey, they're killing us from three, so, we just can't help and we have to do our best one on one.' Again, tip your hat to (Kentucky). They shot the heck out of it and Kenny Brooks does a heck of a job. We've coached a lot of games against each other and he does a nice job.
Khamil Pierre, offensively, we went to her quite a bit. She can create her own shot too and did a great job of that, but we have a lot of things to work on. Rebounding, they had a lot of size, but size isn't the end all be all. You have to box them out and we have to do a better job of that. I'm glad it's November instead of March. We have time to fix stuff and learn from it, and hopefully get to a point where we can win these kinds of games."
