The Pack picked up its second straight win, 75-66, over Wake Forest after falling in its first three ACC matchups. State improved its conference record to 2-3 with sophomore center Kody Burke leading the Pack in scoring with a career-high 26 points. Senior forward Bonae Holston followed up with 17 and led the Wolfpack in rebounds with 10, marking her fifth double-double on the year.

State couldn’t muster a field goal coming out of the gate, starting off two of eight from the field and allowing Wake to get out to an 8-12 lead early in the half. A layup from Burke regained the lead for the Pack, but the Deacs pulled out another 11-0 run.

However, State outscored the Demon Deacons 40-34 in the paint on the night.

“Some of the changes we made were to get the ball inside because when we play inside out good things happen,” Burke said. “Our posts were effective this game so even if it wasn’t working for our guards in scoring we played inside out and good things happened.”

The Pack began to pull itself back into the game towards the conclusion of the first half. A mid-range jumper from Bonae Holston tied the game at 26-26 going into the locker room.

Another Burke layup gave State the lead two minutes into the second half and the Wolfpack didn’t look back. Freshman guard Krystal Barrett also came off the bench in the second half and helped push the Wolfpack lead to nine with a pair of free throws and a layup. She led the bench in scoring with six for the game.

With 5:41 to play in the second half, State took its largest lead of the game at 13 with a 59-46 score. It shot 55.6 percent from the field in the half, which was an improvement on the 35.5 percent from the first half.

Wake went on a 6-0 run towards the end of the second half and came within six points of the Pack, but State knocked down seven of nine free throws down the stretch to seal the deal.

“At that moment it was a little scary,” Burke said. “But we’ve been here before where teams would come back. At that point you try to stay poised and have faith in the offense.”

Burke also led State in blocks with four and tied for the lead in steals with sophomore guard Myisha-Goodwin Coleman. Goodwin-Coleman also led the Pack in assists with five.

The Pack was looking to build on its momentum going into Clemson Thursday.

“It was huge because we know that we have to build confidence going into Clemson,” Holston said. “So we know we [have to] play hard, play tough, and stay focused.”