After loss to South Carolina, NC State women’s basketball has questions to address

Wes Moore put his head in his hand after Lizzy Williamson threw the ball out of bounds, committing N.C. State’s 17th turnover of the afternoon. The Wolfpack head coach looked frustrated and a little bit defeated — his reaction and the outcome eerily similar to the ones seen on April 5.

N.C. State ended the 2023-24 season with a 19-point loss to No. 1 South Carolina in the 2024 Final Four. The Pack hung around for most of that game, but a disastrous third quarter created too big of a deficit to overcome.

Sunday, the Wolfpack lost its first game of the 2024-25 season, 71-57, by 14 points, to the Gamecocks. It hung around with the reigning champs — again — but a surge late in the second quarter created a nine-point differential entering halftime. South Carolina extended that to a 20-point lead at the end of the third.

“In those games, you’re definitely going to get all your weaknesses exposed,” Moore said last week after the season opener. “It’s going to hit you in the face. You’re going to know exactly what you have to work on and how far you have to go.”

That’s exactly what happened.

Freshman Zamareya Jones’ 16-point, two-assist performance and the 4 of 6 shooting from post players Mallory Collier and Lizzy Williamson were the few positives. Otherwise, the team was sorely disappointed by just about everything.

It was out-rebounded by 15. South Carolina grabbed 11 offensive boards, and the Wolfpack had three. The Gamecocks turned those opportunities into 12 second-chance points.

N.C. State finished with nine assists to 21 turnovers, which the team attributed to a lack of movement while it instead attacked one-on-one. It didn’t set picks or play with patience.

Those issues also led to five blocked shots, but Moore estimates at least 10 shots were altered in some way by the South Carolina defense. The Gamecocks’ size and aggression made it difficult to get inside, and the Pack didn’t make proper adjustments.

“You can’t beat the No. 1 team in the country and not compete in those areas,” Moore said.

Jones and Aziaha James said the team didn’t play with the kind of effort it should have, either. The Wolfpack cut the 20-point deficit to seven with 4:39 left to play. It didn’t continue pressuring the Gamecocks like it needed to.

“We need to keep going, keep pushing ourselves,” James said. “We know Coach Moore is going to coach us all the way to the end of the game, so we need to play all the way until the end of the game. I felt like we let off for two minutes and that’s what messed us up.”

To be clear, N.C. State isn’t panicking. There are still more than two dozen regular season games on the schedule and every goal is still within reach.

But, question marks still surround the program and Moore acknowledged that he’s not sure what it’ll take for the team to have long-term success this season. He said last year was easier, because he knew the personnel well and where everyone fit.

The starting lineup and rotation was pretty much set from day one. Mimi Collins and River Baldwin’s graduations, however, left gaping holes in the frontcourt, and now the rotation is in flux.

Boston University transfer Caitlin Weimar was supposed to bolster the scoring and size inside. She’s out with a long-term injury. Williamson, Mallory Collier and Lorena Awou have size but lack speed and agility. The guards have the opposite problem — they’re quick and athletic but small. Tilda Trygger has length but she’s not bulky. The lack of consistent rotation contributes to some of the on-court issues.

“I don’t know. Do we go small and quicker? Do we go big? Do we play four out-one in, which is what I’ve traditionally played? Or do we try to get five guards out there and play five out?” Moore said. “I’m searching, and I gotta figure it out in a hurry and try to help these players a little bit more. But, yeah, I don’t know.”

Even though Moore said he sees “all the blemishes,” the Gamecocks were complimentary of the fight they saw from the Wolfpack.

Te-Hina Paopao scored a game-high 23 points for South Carolina said she knew N.C. State would be a tough, scrappy opponent that could go on runs, like the 11-0 stretch in the first half. She actually reminded her teammates to play with poise and toughness.

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley spoke highly of the Wolfpack and where she believes it can be later this year.

“Anytime you’ve got great guards, like they have, they’re gonna give you a shot,” Staley said. “The bigs are gonna get better. They just lack some experience. We’ve been there. Several of our bigs lack experience. They played the small lineup to get back in the game in the fourth quarter. (When) their bigs get up to speed, they’re gonna be a force to be reckoned with.”