Wes Moore Offers Thoughts on NC State's Final Home Victory

RALEIGH — After a 65-56 win over Wake Forest in the final home game of the 2025-26 season, Wes Moore and NC State women's basketball need just one win to clinch a top-four seed in the ACC Tournament. The penultimate victory of the year was a perfect microcosm of the up-and-down season for the Wolfpack as a whole. Moore described it better than anyone else could.

"I think some people have been waiting to hear it," Moore said. "It's an ugly baby, but it's our baby, so go ahead. I'll throw that out there. I haven't used that all year."

Moore's thoughts on the win and the rest of the season

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The second matchup against Wake Forest was always going to be a tricky one. Even in a season that's been troubling for the Demon Deacons, it's an opponent capable of scoring in bunches, which concerned Moore heading into the game. Still, his team found a way to get through it, despite two ugly quarters in the second half.

"They're tough to play against, the stuff they run offensively. The movement and the back picks and backdoors and curls and fades," Moore said. "It's tough to guard and I thought we did a much better job this time than we did before. Last time we played them, they scored 33 points in the first quarter, so tonight was a much better job."

Nov 9, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Wes Moore in action against the Southern California Trojans during the fourth quarter of the Ally Tipoff game at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

The defensive effort and the rebounding battle stood out as the major successes for the Wolfpack in Moore's eyes. Tilda Trygger and Khamil Pierre each posted double-doubles in the win, controlling the glass with great success against Wake Forest's undersized frontcourt. Even with those successes, there's always work to be done moving forward.

"We were able to be pretty consistent and again, I'd take 56 points," Moore said. "I do think we had some trouble against the zone some, so we've got to look at that. First half, I didn't think we hit shots particularly, but the second half was a little better, it seemed like."

While the Wolfpack can't afford to overlook the final game of the regular season against Pitt, the stakes are about to get even higher with the postseason looming large. Even in a disappointing season, NC State's ceiling remains fairly high if the right parts click at the right time. Moore is preaching a unique mindset to his team as the year winds down.

"We've got to take care of business on the road and then we might as well erase the slate," he said. "We start over. We go to the conference tournament and everybody is equal. If we can maintain our position, hopefully, we've got to win three games and then we leave there and we'll wipe it again and get ready for the NCAAs and start a new one."

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