The women’s basketball team defeated the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks, 83-64, on Wednesday at Reynolds Coliseum.

Further, they did so with returning senior forward Bonae Holston . Holston suffered a minor concussion prior to the season and has been unable to start since then.

The Seahawks (0-3) would come into the game against the Pack (2-0) with an overall-offensive mindset, scoring as many points as possible.

At tip-off, the Seahawks set the tone early by draining a three-point bucket in the first moments the game. While early turnovers in the game would normally hurt the Seahawks, good rebounding and three-point shooting would allow them to lead the game as State could not get transition buckets off Seahawk turnovers.

Eventually, State would hit a 6-0 run with great passing by sophomore point guard Myisha Goodwin-Coleman. More easy buckets would follow for State as the team would see its first lead with 4:48 left in the half, putting them ahead 32-21.

Both the Pack and the Seahawks would turn the ball over four consecutive times, as turnovers made a turn for the worse by both teams. With a three by senior guard Emili Tasler , State took the lead 37-36 with one minute remaining in the half. After an original three-point play by the Seahawks, Wilmington retook the lead. Another Pack bucket followed, tying the game. The score remained tied for the remainder of the half at 39-39.

Two quick buckets to start the half by Holston gave the Wolfpack the boost they needed. Holston enjoyed being back in the game, even though she felt her performance was “rusty.”

“Nothing gets you in game shape like the game,” Holston said. “By that being my first game, I felt rusty, but I played better in the second half.”

With a great pass from Goodwin-Coleman to Holston , the Pack saw its largest lead of the game at the time with a score of 50-45. State continued to increase its lead until Wilmington answered with a couple of baskets to reduce the lead to three.

Eventually, turnovers would yet again control the game. Poor shooting by NCSU would keep the game close as the Seahawks climbed within four points with 8:50 remaining in the game.

After two free throws by junior guard Marissa Kastanek , as well as a couple more baskets from freshman guard Krystal Barrett, State saw its lead climb to 11 points. The remainder of the game was in control by the Pack.

After a Wilmington three cut the lead down to 10, great defense and another bucket from Barrett kept State alive with 1:47 remaining. As the seconds dwindled down, the Pack brought the lead to 19 after another Barrett bucket, sealing the deal for the Pack with a final score of 83-64.

After the game, Coach Kellie Harper was impressed with her team’s performance but says they still have work to do.

“I’m excited about getting a win. I’m really excited that our players were able to turn around in the game, basically. We didn’t play well in the first half, and I think it takes a pretty mature team to change that,” Harper said. “I’m really proud of our players. The communication is exactly where it needed to be. We still have a lot of work to do, but we are really excited about where we can go.”

The Pack, now 2-0 on the season, faces their first road matchup against Texas Christian University on Sunday.