NC State Gets Outclassed in Road Visit at No. 9 Duke
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DURHAM, N.C. — Wes Moore and NC State entered Cameron Indoor Stadium with hopes of being the first member of the ACC to come away with a victory over the No. 9 Duke Blue Devils. The Wolfpack failed in that quest, as the team dug itself into a hole too deep to crawl out of, ultimately falling 83-65.
It took an impressive effort from junior forward Khamil Pierre to keep NC State in the fight throughout most of the game. She finished with a team-high 24 points while collecting five rebounds. Without her, the outcome likely would have been far worse.
No answers on either end early
The final from Cameron pic.twitter.com/Nj2xWummsq
— NC State WBB 🐺🏀 (@PackWomensBball) February 20, 2026
In a clash of high-powered offense and stout defense, Duke was the early winner, significantly hindering the Wolfpack’s scoring ability in the first quarter. The Blue Devils ripped off a 12-0 run in the opening period, building a hearty lead. With the cushion established, the high-pressure defense pinned its ears back and slowed the game down on the other end.
In an effort to switch things up defensively, NC State switched to a zone at the end of the first quarter. It backfired, as Duke buried a pair of triples and maintained a 14-point lead while Pierre tried to keep the Pack attached on the other end to the best of her ability. 10 first-quarter points for the junior forward cut Duke’s lead to 12 points after 10 minutes. With Duke’s defensive prowess, that lead felt somewhat insurmountable, especially at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Tuff turnaround for Z 🔥 pic.twitter.com/QjMbwM3YcM
— NC State WBB 🐺🏀 (@PackWomensBball) February 20, 2026
Things were slightly better early in the second quarter, but Duke’s suffocating defense had the Wolfpack in another lengthy scoring drought. During that time, the Blue Devils slowly built up the lead once again, with the Pack trying to pack up the pieces on the offensive end, but failing to do so on the majority of its possessions.
Shot selection nightmare
At the break pic.twitter.com/2ILH8p9Gxc
— NC State WBB 🐺🏀 (@PackWomensBball) February 20, 2026
The Duke defense looked to take away passing lanes on the perimeter and embraced physicality with the Wolfpack’s frontcourt players. That forced NC State into some brutally difficult shots throughout the first half. Essentially, everyone but Pierre failed to convert said shots at a rate high enough to stay attached to Duke.
Zoe Brooks and Zam Jones combined to start the game 1-of-7 from the field, with Brooks particularly struggling to make an impact. With Pierre and Jones on the bench, Duke pushed its lead to as many as 16 points late in the second quarter. NC State had a chance to cut the lead to less a handful of times, but every single shot felt like a chore.
Sophomore forward Tilda Trygger continued to struggle offensively, missing a handful of shots inside that seemed to be routine in the early part of the season. Sporting a fairly significant ankle brace once again, her mobility wasn’t quite as strong as it had been, likely hindering her ability to generate much offense.
Jones’ shot choices seemed to frustrate Moore in key moments, as the coach knew every possession was going to be important against the slow operation of the Blue Devils.
Brooks leads a charge
NC State outscores Duke 22-15 in the third 🤗@zoebrooks35 with 13 points in the quarter!
— NC State WBB 🐺🏀 (@PackWomensBball) February 20, 2026
End of 3Q | Duke 56, NC State 48 pic.twitter.com/q6g8vTB3l4
After her poor start to the game, it was Brooks who led a third-quarter charge for the Wolfpack. Her first 13 points came in that quarter, helping NC State recover after going down 20 points midway through the period. Her relentless work rate on the offensive end finally began to pay off, as the Blue Devil defense began to show some holes and open lanes.
Pierre continued to operate successfully inside, joining Brooks in the comeback effort. The Wolfpack embarked on a 16-2 run that helped cut the lead down to as few as six points. NC State expended massive amounts of energy getting back into the fight, so it sank back into the zone defense in an effort to conserve energy for the fourth quarter.
By the end of the period, the offensive numbers evened out more. NC State trailed 56-48, with Duke’s shooting percentage down all the way to 47%. Still, it was going to take a herculean effort from a short-staffed Wolfpack team to complete such a daunting comeback on the road.
A 6-0 run in less than a minute during the middle part of the fourth quarter put the game away for the Blue Devils, as the lead ballooned back to 15 points. After making numerous tough shots inside, Pierre’s layups stopped falling and the hopes of a comeback quickly evaporated.
Final word
8th 20-piece of the year for @KhamilPierre 🔥
— NC State WBB 🐺🏀 (@PackWomensBball) February 20, 2026
She has 21 points entering the 4th! pic.twitter.com/lFg91JrKbp
Ranked wins continue to elude Moore’s Wolfpack in the 2025-26 season. It was always going to be difficult to knock off a team that appears destined for an ACC title, especially in its own building, but to work so hard to get back into the fight and then run out of steam in the fourth quarter fits a familiar pattern.
NC State gets back in action on Sunday, hosting a Syracuse squad dangerously close in the league standings back in Raleigh.
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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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