Fourth-Quarter Woes Doom NC State at Clemson
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NC State women's basketball had a perfect start to ACC league play over the first two weeks of the schedule, but the Wolfpack couldn't overcome its lack of depth on the road in a true road test against Clemson. Wes Moore's team ultimately fell to the Tigers 75-65 in Littlejohn Coliseum on Thursday, dropping to 11-5 and 4-1 in league play.
The Pack looked like it was in control throughout most of the game, trailing by just two at the half and leading at the start of the fourth quarter. However, the team didn't have the energy to keep up with Clemson's deeper rotation and crumbled down the stretch, showing a tendency that looked like it was a thing of the past for this NC State group.
What happened?
With star sophomore guard Zamareya Jones sidelined with an ankle injury, NC State's already-thin rotation was stretched even more for the second-straight game, as Tilda Trygger missed the previous game with an illness. This placed tremendous stress on Zoe Brooks, Khamil Pierre and a returned Trygger, with all three needing to produce offensively.
Trygger rose to the occasion the most, scoring a season-high 19 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. However, she wore down as the game moved along, while Clemson leaned on a deep group off its bench to double-team the Wolfpack forward to prevent her from using her size advantage effectively.
TT for 2! pic.twitter.com/7HB6B7AV9G
— NC State WBB 🐺🏀 (@PackWomensBball) January 9, 2026
The Tiger bench accounted for 40 points, while the three players from Moore's bench scored just six in the loss. The avalanche for Clemson came in the fourth quarter, as NC State was truly running out of gas and clearly struggling to find offense without Jones, the team's primary 3-point shooting threat.
To make matters worse, Pierre appeared to suffer a cramp, forcing her out of the game as the Tigers made their run. Clemson ultimately poured it on, beating the Wolfpack 23-8 in the final 10 minutes, with Moore's side suffering from one of the scoring droughts that plagued it during some of the ugly non-conference losses.
Final from Clemson pic.twitter.com/IPSZs2O3qb
— NC State WBB 🐺🏀 (@PackWomensBball) January 9, 2026
After seemingly turning a corner in the win over Cal by scoring 13 points, junior guard Qadence Samuels reverted to her shooting struggles, going 2-for-10 from the field and missing all five of her attempts from beyond the arc. With Pierre sidelined in the fourth quarter and Trygger being doubled, Samuels had more opportunities to attack, but couldn't take advantage.
NC State will need to get things turned around quickly, with SMU set to arrive in Raleigh for another Sunday matchup. That game is scheduled to tip off at 6 P.M. EST at Reynolds Coliseum.
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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