NC State WBB Looks to Revive Season in ACC Play
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RALEIGH — With Sunday's win over Seton Hall, Wes Moore and NC State women's basketball moved to 6-4 on the season after a grueling non-conference slate. The Wolfpack faced four different ranked opponents, only beating Tennessee in the season opener in Greensboro.
Before the season began, head coach Wes Moore expressed his concerns about his team. There is not a single senior on the roster, forcing the veteran coach to turn to several young players like Zam Jones, Zoe Brooks and Tilda Trygger in an effort to maintain the standard set by stars like Saniya Rivers and Aziaha James before them.
Big third quarter energy 🔥 pic.twitter.com/YGBDqew8KD
— NC State WBB 🐺🏀 (@PackWomensBball) December 8, 2025
NC State now faces the grind of the ACC schedule, although the conference has experienced some turbulence across the board. Duke, which began the season ranked No. 7, sits at 4-6. The Wolfpack will need to get things going in conference play to reestablish itself as a worthy contender from a national perspective. Can Moore find a way to get the group back on track?
What needs to happen for NC State
Many of NC State's early issues stemmed from a lack of clear-cut leadership on the roster. The young players failed to step into the holes left behind by Rivers and James, causing Moore some initial frustration, but he's practicing patience with the group in hopes that players like Brooks gain an edge and sense of urgency as the season carries on.
"I think it's tough... You'd say Zoe, maybe, but Zoe's not really vocal. That's not her thing. So again, that's part of it probably," Moore said. "We're still with no seniors on the roster, we're still probably lacking a little bit in that area. And I think we're going to have to do it by committee."
The sophomore duo of Jones and Trygger has answered the call to some extent, but their youth makes it more difficult for them to lead, as they don't share the same experiences as Brooks and even Vanderbilt transfer Khamil Pierre. If Pierre can get comfortable in Raleigh, she's already shown how valuable she can be, making her potential ceiling very high. Moore knows this and has been patient with the transition.
"I think it's been a real transition for Khamil. I think she was real comfortable at her prior school and now you come in and get dropped in here and it's almost like being a freshman again," Moore said.
NC State's defense has steadily improved, but the offense still suffers from inconsistencies. Much of that inconsistency stems from that true alpha. Brooks was expected to take on more of the scoring load and has proven she can at times, but she still needs a valve to release some of that pressure. It's been a collective effort by Jones, Trygger and Pierre to be that valve.
However, the team continually deals with droughts on the offensive end. Even in the win over Seton Hall, NC State scored just 11 points in the fourth quarter. It experienced late collapses against USC and Oklahoma, ultimately leading to blown leads against ranked teams. If the Wolfpack is to turn things around in ACC play, it needs to find a go-to scorer down the stretch and avoid such ruts.
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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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