North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
5-3,0-0ACC
Southern Miss
6-2,0-0Sun Belt
No. 25/24 NC State Dominates Southern Miss with Cancun Challenge Record 110 Points
11/28/2025 6:41:00 PM | Women's Basketball
RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico – The No. 25/24 NC State women's basketball team led in wire-to-wire fashion vs. Southern Miss at the 2025 Cancun Challenge, defeating the Golden Eagles 110-56. The Pack's 110 points marked a new Cancun Challenge record. The Pack's 110 points marked a new Cancun Challenge record, surpassing UConn's 109 points scored in 2008.
NC State saw seven players in double digits and nine scored seven or more. The Pack was led by Khamil Pierre's double-double behind 18 points and 16 rebounds, and she was named the game's Most Outstanding Player. NC State also saw freshmen Destiny "Ky'She" Lunan and Adelaide Jernigan scored a career-high 11 and 10 points, a piece.
The Pack's 110 points was the second most points scored on Southern Miss in the Golden Eagles' program history and most since Delta State scored 111 on the Golden Eagles on Dec. 2, 1975.
NC State led the game by as many as 60 and won the battle in a myriad of categories with points off turnovers (22-0), points in the paint (58-22), second chance points (13-2), fast breaks (27-7), bench points (37-22) and rebounding (52-34), among others.
Zoe Brooks came up with the Pack's first two baskets, which got the Pack rolling to an early 11-0 lead. The Golden Eagles scored for the first time four minutes into the game off a 3-pointer, but Qadence Samuels answered with her second triple of the game. The Pack scored a season-high 30 points in the first quarter, shooting 52.2 percent from the field (12-of-23) and outrebounding Southern Miss 20-7. The Pack led 30-9 after the first, with Brooks logging eight of those.
The Pack kept the momentum rolling in the second quarter, going on a 15-0 run and holding USM to just one point for the first 7:16 of the second quarter. Zamareya Jones registered 10 of her 14 points in the second quarter alone and was a big part of that huge run. NC State held USM scoreless for nearly six minutes until the Golden Eagles caught fire from deep to close the quarter on a 14-9 run. The Pack still led the charge in the second quarter, 28-15, and at the half led with a 58-24 edge.
NC State kept the momentum rolling in the second half, outscoring the Golden Eagles 17-7 in the first five minutes of the third quarter to lead 75-31 with 4:20 left in the third. The guards continued to feed Tilda Trygger and Pierre, who combined for 34 points on the day. Maddie Cox knocked down a 3-pointer to start an 8-0 run to end the quarter. NC State led 87-35 at the end of the third.
Adelaide Jernigan and Lunan knocked down triples as a part of an 8-2 run, and the Pack outscored USM 23-21 in the fourth.
PACK PERFORMERS
- Pierre paced the Pack with her fifth double-double of the season behind 18 points and 16 rebounds
- Trygger was just shy of a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds
- Jones logged 14 points, four boards, a career-high eight assists and three steals
- Brooks recorded 14 points, three rebounds, five assists and four steals
- Samuels registered a season-high 11 points off 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc with five boards
- Lunan tallied a career-high 11 points off 3-of-5 from the field with three assists
- Jernigan registered a career-high 10 points off 4-of-6 shooting from the field with two boards
- Cox logged nine points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal
- Mallory Collier logged a season-high seven points with two boards
- Quigley logged two assists and two steals off the bench
- The Pack scored a season-high 110 points, becoming the first time since 1996 vs. Delaware that NC State scored 100+ points in a neutral site game
- NC State outrebounded Southern Miss by 18 (52-34)
- The Pack logged a season-high 25 assists in comparison to seven turnovers
- The Pack also had a season-high 13 steals
- NC State shot a season-high 55.8 percent from the field (43-of-77) and 47.4 percent from 3-point (9-of-19)
UPCOMING
The Pack will head to Norman to play Oklahoma for the ACC/SEC Challenge on Wednesday, Dec. 3. The game will tipoff at 7:15 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
