Top-10 Thriller: NC State Takes Down No. 8 Tennessee
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GREENSBORO — After the two close calls in the preseason, NC State women's basketball coach Wes Moore thought his team's No. 9 ranking was inaccurate. He knew the Wolfpack would be tested right out of the gate with a matchup against No. 8 Tennessee in the Greensboro Invitational.
Moore's team thrillingly passed its opening test, outlasting the Lady Volunteers in an 80-77 battle. NC State's stars outperformed the depth of Kim Caldwell's squad and came away with the win despite 11 lead changes.
Jones in the Clutch
Moore leaned on the experience of sophomore guard Zam Jones when it mattered most. Jones played the entire fourth quarter and rewarded her coach's trust with nine points down the stretch. She made four free throw attempts in the final frame.
When Tennessee took a three-point lead with just over three minutes left in the game, Jones sensed the importance of the moment. She drilled a three of her own and tied the game at 72. She railed off seven straight points in the clutch and finished the game with 18 total and five assists.
The Pivotal Rebound
The Wolfpack held a one-point lead after a crucial stop with 37 seconds left. Moore called upon his star point guard, Zoe Brooks, to slow things down and kill as much clock as possible before running a play. Brooks darted around a screen from forward Tilda Trygger and eventually found Qadence Samuels open for a three. The UConn transfer couldn't hit the clutch three.
However, Trygger stormed into the paint and used her entire 6-foot-6 frame to haul in a crucial offensive rebound. Instead of forcing the shot right back up, Trygger kicked out to Jones, who smartly backed up and milked a few more seconds before being fouled by the scrambling Lady Volunteers. Jones sank both free throws with just under two seconds left in the game.
Our first player in double figures this season: Tilda Trygger‼️ pic.twitter.com/aMC0aWj7Fe
— NC State WBB 🐺🏀 (@PackWomensBball) November 4, 2025
Trygger dominated in the paint against a physical Tennessee team for much of the night. She was the first member of the Pack to reach double figures in the scoring column and often found herself open after Brooks and Jones were able to break Tennessee's relentless pressure.
The Swedish forward finished the game with 19 points, eight rebounds, including three offensive boards, and a pair of blocks in 37 minutes.
SEC Experience Comes Up Big
Khamil Pierre knew what to expect when facing the Lady Volunteers. The forward spent last season with Vanderbilt before bringing her talents to Moore's program in Raleigh. She architected one of her best performances of the 2024-25 season against Tennessee, scoring 21 points in an upset win.
She dug into that same bag of tricks when she saw that Tennessee orange jersey across from her once again. Pierre led the Wolfpack with 21 points and hauled in 14 rebounds over the Volunteers. She added three steals as well.
Outlasting the Pressure
Tennessee utilized a platoon-style substitution pattern. 11 different players went in and out of the game for Caldwell. Moore has traditionally played his top six to seven players, never digging much deeper than that. In the first half, the Wolfpack looked fatigued at times, but hung around as Tennessee stormed out to a 10-point lead at one point.
The Pack ratcheted up the defense in the third quarter, outscoring Tennessee 23-18. Brooks found a different gear and distributed well while also handling the consistent press and double teams.
While there were certainly some issues with the offense and defense throughout the game, the win over the Lady Volunteers indicated Moore might've underestimated his team slightly during the preseason. The Wolfpack will be back in action Sunday, taking on another top-25 opponent, No. 18 USC, in Charlotte at the Ally Tipoff event.
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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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