In its first game of 2025, No. 22 NC State women’s basketball faced off against the Boston College Eagles and put forth a dominant performance in a 91-52 win Sunday afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum.
The Wolfpack (11-3, 3-0 ACC) saw the game as an opportunity to start the new year with a victory and snag another conference win. It also looked to avenge its loss to Boston College (10-7, 1-3 ACC) from two years ago, which was the last time the two faced off in Reynolds Coliseum.
The Pack dominated from the jump, taking a 28-9 lead at the end of the first quarter and building on that momentum for the rest of the game. All five starters ended the game in double figures and freshman guard Devyn Quigley provided double digits off the bench.
“It was good to come out ready to play,” said head coach Wes Moore. “I’m proud of them for that. We’ve had some games where we’ve been a little bit slow to get started. Today, we came out with a lot of energy, made some plays, got out and ran.”
After injuries derailed the Pack earlier in the season, it has found a way to rebound and is gaining momentum into its ACC schedule.
“It’s scary,” said senior guard Saniya Rivers. “Teams aren’t going to know who to focus on. They’re going to have to guard all five of us, and I feel like that’s very beneficial for us. We definitely are going to use this to our advantage. We’re all versatile. We’re all scoring. We’re all sharing the ball and having fun. When you see us running and scoring and smiling, it’s dangerous.”
NC State was playing off of a full week of rest, which gave it more time to prepare for Boston College. One week to focus on a single team can be very beneficial in allowing the players to fully immerse themselves in a game without distractions.
“We had a lot of fun,” said sophomore guard Zoe Brooks. “We were ready and we had a full week to prepare mentally and physically while working on ourselves, and I think we did a good job showing that today.”
Contrary to its early season mistakes, the Wolfpack kept its foot on the gas for the full 40 minutes after taking a large lead in the first quarter. In early December, NC State had a 37-21 lead against then-No. 18 Ole Miss, but the Lady Rebels were able to cut the Pack’s lead down to two in the fourth quarter.
In this game, the Pack not only held onto its lead in the second half but kept dominating through it, winning the point margin in both the third and fourth quarters.
“I think looking at it from the other team’s point of view helps,” Rivers said. “They still have another 20 minutes to play. So I think we just have to look at that and think that they still want to win, they’re still hungry, we can’t get too comfortable. So we just have to be humble and keep playing our game the way we got that big lead. We gotta keep it or try to double it.”
As the red-and-white moves forward, it can look at this as a big momentum boost to start 2025. A domination of a conference opponent is a good omen for the rest of its conference schedule. Not only that, but the Wolfpack has found its rhythm with seven straight wins, a much-needed streak as it takes a week-long trip to California for its next two games.
The Wolfpack will play its next game on Thursday when it travels to Berkely, California to take on No. 20 California. Tipoff is slated for 10 p.m.
