By: Katelyn Stevens
UConn’s Huskies lost their first game of the season 81-92 yesterday against NC State’s Wolfpack.
Fans filled Reynold Coliseum with red, black and white to see NC State women’s basketball team become 2-0 yesterday afternoon.
“The atmosphere was fantastic,” UConn’s head coach Geno Auriemma said. “That had something to do with it. The crowd was incredibly supportive and N.C. State played off the crowd.”
The No. 2 ranked team dominated against Dayton in their season opener a week ago, but couldn’t keep the momentum going for Sunday’s game.
“We got our asses beat, plain and simple,” Huskies’ head coach Auriemma said.
With this defeat, instead of UConn possibly moving up to the overall No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 Poll, they’ll drop in next week’s poll.
North Carolina State’s Saniya Rivers led her team in Sunday’s victory. She had a career-best 33 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, five assists and three steals.
Rivers is a 6-foot-1 transfer from South Carolina. She’s starting her second year a part of the Wolfpack and is a playmaker that’s not afraid to attack the basket.
Embed from Getty ImagesAlthough the Huskies lost, Paige Bueckers played in her second game after 584 days since she last played with UConn due to injuries.
Bueckers led UConn with 27 points, Aaliyah Edwards followed with 21 and Aziaha James finished with 18 points.
Sunday’s game was a rematch of the Elite Eight matchup from 2022. The Huskies beat the Wolfpack in a double overtime, despite NC State being a No. 1 regional seed.
NC State clearly came back with a vengeance and beat UConn for the first time since 1998.
The season continues Wednesday November 15th. The Wolfpack will host Elon at home and the Huskies will host the Maryland Terrapins.
