NC State women are 2-0 in ACC play. Why they’re finding their stride
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- N.C. State routed Georgia Tech 87-58, moved to 2-0 in ACC and 8-4 overall.
- Coach Moore enforces defensive focus; team responds with sustained runs.
- Balanced scoring produced multiple double-figure efforts in first two ACC games.
Wes Moore stood on the sideline, hands on his hips, with three minutes left in the game. N.C. State might’ve been up 35 points, but he was still going to coach his team .
Moore and his squad picked up an 87-58 blowout win — its second straight — over Georgia Tech on Thursday night. It moved to 2-0 in ACC play, powered once again by another well-rounded performance and dominant defensive effort. The Wolfpack has won five of its last six games by an average of 25.8 points .
“I‘m really proud of the way we’ve been coming out the last few games, ready to play and making a little bit of a statement early,” Moore said. “Fourth quarter got a little sloppy, but through three quarters, I thought we played extremely well.”
The Wolfpack (8-4) got off to a slow start and allowed the Yellow Jackets to take a two-point lead midway through the first quarter. A more aggressive approach, however, limited Georgia Tech’s shooting efficiency and helped create its own offense.
The Yellow Jackets (4-9, 0-2) missed six straight baskets during two first-half stretches, which N.C. State used to take the lead.
On the other end, the Pack made 12 of 13 shots in a stretch between the end of the first quarter and middle of the second. It included eight consecutive baskets as the Wolfpack outscored the visitors 29-11 in the second quarter.
N.C. State’s intensity didn’t let up in the third quarter. It outscored Georgia Tech, 22-3, setting a new record for fewest opponent points allowed in a quarter this season. GT did not score for nearly nine minutes, while the N.C. State offense went on a 20-0 run. It surpassed the 70-point mark with more than a quarter left to play.
The Wolfpack outscored the Yellow Jackets, 51-14, in the second and third periods.
“Coach just talked about how we were on track to give up a lot of points, and that’s not what we’re here to do,” Khamil Pierre said. “He just talked about making sure we knew our scout and being where we’re supposed to be on the court. We shut them down after that.”
Georgia Tech scored 24 points in the final quarter when Moore played the back end of his rotation, but the team can live with the result.
Zamareya Jones led N.C. State with 17 points and started a perfect 5 for 5 from the field. Six players finished in double figures. Pierre and Tilda Trygger finished one and two rebounds shy, respectively, of a double-double.
Georgia Tech’s Talayah Walker tied her career high with 20 points, including four 3-pointers. Eighteen points came in the first half.
Catherine Alben added 18 points. The duo scored 38 points on 14 of 27 (51.8%) shooting. The rest of the Yellow Jackets scored 20 and made 9 of 38 (23.6%).
Opening with two impressive ACC wins
The win over Georgia Tech comes on the heels of another impressive conference win, with nearly the same score.
N.C. State opened the ACC slate with a dominant 87-61 road win over Miami. Five Wolfpack players scored in double figures, led by Pierre’s 21-point, 13-rebound double-double, her seventh of the season. Jones also scored 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting, including a trio of baskets from the perimeter.
“Z’s always consistently, not only a hard worker, but always an energy kid,” Pierre said on Thursday after Jones’ back-to-back big games. “She makes shots like that every day at practice, and she also brings energy every day. That’s what was expected.”
The team looked the most cohesive it had all season against a Power Four program, especially in the opening two quarters, dominating on defense and, like Thursday, turning that into points on the other end.
It scored 48 first-half points, surpassing its 45 points at Oklahoma, and held Miami to 20 points. Both were offensive and defensive scoring records against major competition this season.
N.C. State forced 11 first-half turnovers and scored 14 points off of Miami’s miscues and used a 16-2 run.
It was on track to hold the Hurricanes to four points in the second quarter before Amarachi Kimpson hit a 3 as time expired.
“I feel like that started all in practice,” Lunan said. “[Moore] has been preaching ‘defense, defense, defense’ all the time. He’s been really strict on that. We’ve taken that challenge to show it in the game. That’s what we’re doing. I just feel like we’ve really taken pride in the defense.”
Pierre and Moore also discussed the defensive urgency. That’s been the biggest priority in practice. The fact N.C. State is shooting the ball more efficiently helps the team’s confidence, too.
“It’s just sticking to what we talk about at practice,” Pierre said of the team’s recent stretch. “Coach says it’s a new season. It’s a new opportunity to just show the team we truly are. And I think, you know, we’ve all just been having that in the back of our head, which is why we’ve had this turnaround.”
