NC State
1-1,0-0ACC
USC
2-0,0-0Big Ten
No. 9 Women’s Basketball Falls to No. 18 USC in Ally Tipoff
11/9/2025 5:24:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 9/8 NC State women's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker to No. 18/16 USC, 69-68. NC State finished the game on a 4:03 scoring drought, allowing the Trojans to go on an 8-0 run to end the game and deliver the game-winning bucket with eight seconds in the game. NC State had two chances to retake the lead in the final eight, but was not able to find a response.
NC State outrebounded the Trojans 54-40, and had the edge in fastbreaks (38-36) and points in the paint (38-36).
Zoe Brooks and Khamil Pierre logged consecutive double-doubles, as Brooks finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, and Pierre had 10 points and matched a career-high 18 boards.
The Pack jumped out to an 8-2 lead courtesy of a Qadence Samuels 3-pointer and Brooks' 3-point play. After over a three-minute scoring drought by NC State, USC tied the game up at 8-8, but Devyn Quigley, who had seven first-quarter points, came off the bench and drove it to the basket for a layup to break the drought. USC took its first lead of the game off a triple, but Pierre responded with back-to-back layups. The first quarter featured two lead changes and the Pack led 20-18.
USC started the second quarter on a 5-0 run, leading by as many as four, 26-22, with 6:18 left in the second. The Pack then took a 6-0 run, as USC was in a three-minute scoring drought. In the final two minutes of the second quarter, the lead exchanged back-and-forth three different times, as both sides finished the quarter 3-of-3 from the field. Brooks took it to the basket for two before the buzzer, as the Pack led 34-33 at the half.
USC retook the lead with back-to-back layups to start the third quarter, and then the Pack got rolling midway through the quarter to take a 6-0 run, sparked by a Tilda Trygger triple and a coast-to-coast layup from Quigley. USC dug out of its nearly three-minute drought before the media timeout, as the Pack led 42-41 with 4:46 left in the third. The third quarter featured four ties in the first 8.5 minutes of the frame. The Pack then closed the quarter strong on an 8-0 run, while going 4-of-4 from the field during that stretch. A Zamareya Jones 3-pointer pulled the Pack ahead 58-50 after three. Brooks logged nine points in the third quarter.
NC State continued its run going in the fourth quarter to extend it to an 11-0 one after a Brooks layup. The Trojans then went on a 7-0 run, as the Pack was held in a scoring drought for three minutes until Brooks broke the drought with another attack to the basket. A Jones jumper with 4:03 left in the game to extend the Pack's lead to seven was NC State's last bucket of the game, as USC closed it out on an 8-0 run. With eight seconds in the game, USC delivered the game-winning basket off an inbounds play and the Pack could not get a response on the other end. NC State fouled USC with 1.9 seconds to go in the game and the Trojans missed both free throws. The Pack got the ball back, but could not find an open player underneath for the game-winning basket. NC State dropped the contest, 69-68.
PACK PERFORMERS
- Brooks led the way for the Pack with a 24-point, 11-rebound double-double. After recording double-doubles in back-to-back games to open the season, she has already matched her career high with two in a single season
- Pierre matched a personal-best performance on the glass with 18 rebounds, while also scoring 10 points for her second straight double-double
- Trygger was the third Pack player to rebound in double figures with 11, nearly recording a double-double with her eight points
- Quigley led the NC State bench with nine points, including seven in the first quarter
- The Wolfpack outrebounded USC, 54-40, while also leading the way in fastbreak points, 19-11
UPCOMING
NC State is set to host Maine in the Pack's home opener on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at Reynolds Coliseum. The game will tipoff at 7 p.m. and will be aired on ACC Network Extra. Tickets for the game can be purchased HERE.
