Out of a four-game homestand that featured a monumental upset win over No. 2 UConn, one could make the argument that NC State women’s basketball just received its toughest test thus far against Rhode Island.

NC State (4-0) started slow and didn’t play well for portions of the game but found a way to come together at the end and pull away from the Rams (3-2) for a 67-58 victory, finishing a four-game opening homestand unblemished.

The Wolfpack knew this would not be an easy challenge against the Rams, a team that won 26 games last season and could very well be playing in the NCAA Tournament this season.

“First of all, tip your hat to Rhode Island and Tammi Reiss — we knew this was gonna be a tough game,” said head coach Wes Moore. “We talked about it in the locker room afterwards; first of all, don’t go by the name on the jersey. Second of all, great job of coming back. Connecticut game, now this game, dug a hole but were able to fight back.”

The Pack learned early on that this wouldn’t be a cupcake game like some of its previous contests as the Rams came to play, playing with the lead for almost the entire first quarter and using a 6-0 run at the beginning of the second to take a 10-point lead.

It was at this point that NC State decided it was time to stop messing around, going on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit down to two. Seemingly every time it seemed like the red-and-white was going to seize momentum, the Rams had an answer, matching the Pack punch-for-punch and maintaining a 30-26 lead at halftime.

During the huddles and the timeouts, the players took charge and held each other accountable, giving each other the spark and the motivation they needed to fight back into the game.

“It was all of us; we were just like, ‘We see their run; they punched first,’” said graduate forward Mimi Collins. “I think that’s the greatest thing about this team is how much player-led, how much love and how much trust we have in each other.”

After shooting just 35.5% from the field in the first 20 minutes, NC State decided to stop settling for jump shots and instead attack the basket, an effort that was spearheaded by junior guard Saniya Rivers. The star of the win over UConn made her presence felt on both ends of the floor, racking up seven points and two steals in the third quarter alone to will her team back in it.

“Shots weren’t really falling in the first half for anybody, and unfortunately we’re gonna have nights like that,” Rivers said. “On nights like that we have to make sure that our defense is on point. It wasn’t in the first half, which is why we were down, but once we came in and started looking to attack more, get to the line, get their post in foul trouble, that’s what turned the game around.”

The Pack finally took its first lead of the game since the opening minutes on a jumper by junior guard Aziaha James with 1:12 left in the third, but once again, Rhode Island had an answer, hitting a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the period to take a 48-46 lead heading into the final frame.

With the tension and anxiety growing inside Reynolds Coliseum, NC State finally found its extra gear in the game’s final minutes. A layup by James off a Rams’ turnover gave her team the lead once again 57-56, and this time, the Pack did not give it up.

James and Rivers hit bucket after bucket in crunch time, including a clutch triple by James to stretch the lead to four with 2:45 left. After a timeout with 38 seconds left, James found a cutting Rivers with an inbounds pass from the sideline — Rivers laid it in while drawing a foul to give the Pack a 65-58 lead, which all but sealed the game.

Rivers added another stellar game to her already-standout season, dropping 19 points, seven assists and seven steals. Not far behind was James with 17 herself, and the two of them scored their biggest buckets when they mattered most.

To add a cherry on top of a game that capped off an undefeated homestand, Collins scored the 1,000th point of her college career, which spans the time she spent playing at Tennessee and Maryland as well. Collins recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

“When I was at Tennessee, when I was at Maryland, even here, I have excellent teammates,” Collins said. “I can’t thank this team enough and the coaches. I’m forever happy, and like I told them, I said ‘My 1,000 points don’t mean anything if we don’t win this game.’ That’s just how we played it.”

The Pack sits at 4-0 after a challenging opening stretch and will now travel away from the comfortable confines of Reynolds Coliseum with a three-game trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands over Thanksgiving break. NC State will play Kentucky on Thursday, Nov. 23, Cincinnati on Friday, Nov. 24 and Colorado on Saturday, Nov. 25.