CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With just two minutes left, No. 9 NC State women’s basketball looked like it was about to start its season 2-0.
Leading No. 18 USC by five with just two minutes left in the Ally Tipoff, the Pack had all the momentum. The cheering from NC State fans was at a high, USC fans were packing the aisle to leave and even ESPN gave the Wolfpack a 98.1% chance of winning.
But in the world of college basketball, anything can happen on any given day.
In the biggest moments, the Wolfpack (1-1) froze against the Trojans (2-0). It didn’t record a single point for the final four minutes, allowing star freshman Jazzy Davidson to record the go-ahead layup with 10 seconds left. Junior guard Zoe Brooks tried to retaliate with a layup of her own, but got the ball stolen.
Even still, NC State had one final chance with just 1.8 seconds on the clock, but a miscommunication led to another Brooks turnover, effectively sealing the Wolfpack’s 69-68 loss to the Trojans.
“Tough loss,” said head coach Wes Moore. “Got a lead, got an opportunity and just have to make plays down the stretch and find a way to win that game.”
Brooks scored 24 points to go along with 11 rebounds — her second-straight double-double — and six rebounds, but also uncharacteristically turned the ball over six times. The Trojans knew that Brooks would be the primary ballhandler for the majority of the game and took full advantage, forcing Brooks to make risky passes and costly turnovers.
It provides an accurate summary for the Wolfpack, which, despite dominating the rebounding margin 54 to 40, lost the game. Typically, when a team dominates the glass by that much, it leaves with a win. But NC State couldn’t even convert on its extra rebounds, scoring just eight second-chance points to USC’s 15.
Furthermore, the Pack’s 11 assists paled in comparison to its 17 turnovers — an abysmal 0.65 assist-to-turnover ratio. It doesn’t matter how many rebounds you grab; it’s nearly impossible to win when a possession is wasted 17 times.
For the majority of the offseason, junior forward Khamil Pierre was hyped up as the answer to NC State’s struggling post room. After posting a monster first game in the red-and-white, she couldn’t get anything going against USC, shooting just 4-16 from the field and exposing her thus far disjointed role.
“There’s just a lot of little intricacies that we gotta buy into fixing,” Moore said. “We’ve got new players that we’re counting on and they’ve got to buy in as well and we’ve got to all be on the same page.”
Early in the season, tougher Division I teams typically open their schedule with multiple non-Power Four matchups to provide a chance to build chemistry and develop an identity. Moore knew the consequences that came with scheduling back-to-back ranked, neutral matchups, and he’s left to deal with the consequences.
“You don’t know exactly what you have until you’re put in these situations, which is why you schedule them,” said USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb. “I think it’s a chance for us to redefine our identity a little bit.”
NC State has little time to redefine itself with a faceoff against No. 17 TCU on the horizon. But for now, Moore and company have an opportunity to get their chemistry back with their home opener against Maine on Tuesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
