Only allowing 13 points in a defensive masterclass in the first half, NC State women’s basketball appeared to have its game against Coastal Carolina wrapped up by halftime.

However, it was very much not over.

The Chanticleers (2-4) fought back in the second half, capitalizing on turnovers and defensive lapses. While the Wolfpack (3-2) emerged with a 71-58 win, the performance showed it has plenty to improve upon just five games in.

“Good first half, we’re up 21 points, second half we went back to our old ways,” said head coach Wes Moore. “Ball sticking, one on one, having breakdowns defensively of things we’ve gone over; they should understand … [we] gotta put 40 minutes together.”

The halves could not have been more different, with NC State outscoring Coastal Carolina 34-13 in the first half. Junior forward Maddie Cox led the charge with 11 first-half points, starting in place of sophomore forward Tilda Trygger. Cox was efficient offensively, hitting 3-for-4 from deep in the first half.

“They have the most confidence in me, and it’s helped me tremendously this year,” Cox said. “Zoey tells me every time, ‘shoot the next one, shoot the next one,’ and I think them instilling that [confidence] into me is amazing.”

Defensively, the Wolfpack played nearly perfectly in the first half. Coastal Carolina only made five shots in the first two quarters, while turning the ball over 15 times. The Pack held the Chanticleers scoreless over a 13-minute stretch, nearly burying Coastal Carolina by halftime.

“I thought the whole team in the first half was pretty good,” Moore said. “I think that was great defensively, and offensively, like I said, I thought we pushed tempo and we swung the ball, we penetrated and kicked.”

However, the Chanticleers came out of the gates swinging after halftime. After shooting 1-for-16 in the first half from three, Coastal Carolina hit 3-for-4 in the third quarter, capitalizing on slow closeouts from the Pack’s defense. Late in the quarter, the Chanticleers cut the lead to nine, exposing a key flaw in the Wolfpack’s game: turnovers.

The Pack committed 21 turnovers throughout the evening, including 12 in the second half. The turnovers gave Coastal Carolina life in the second half, sparking a fire for the visitors. Once the turnovers began, they spiraled out of control, dwindling NC State’s lead throughout the night.

“Gotta clean a lot of stuff up,” Moore said. “As the competition keeps rising, we’re gonna be in trouble if we don’t figure it out.”