The NC State women's basketball team, ranked No. 10, secured a notable 78-60 victory over the No. 3-ranked Colorado on Saturday. The victory marked the second significant win for the Wolfpack against a top-3 team this month, following their win over UConn on Nov. 12.

NC State quickly established dominance in the game, leading 22-6 by the end of the first quarter. Colorado, struggling offensively, finished the game with a 32.8 percent shooting from the field, much lower than their average. The Wolfpack's success was also partly due to their ability to take advantage of Colorado's 18 turnovers, scoring 22 points off these.

They also dominated in the paint, outscoring Colorado 36-14. Colorado’s head coach, JR Payne, acknowledged NC State's efficient transition offense as a key factor in Colorado's loss, referring to it as their “superpower.”

“I thought their transition offense was a lot better than our transition defense today,” Payne said, as reported by Anthony Kazmierczak of Fan Nation. “That's what they do. That's their superpower. It [the game] opened up really quickly because of that.”

River Baldwin was a key player for NC State, scoring a career-high 26 points. This performance was a significant improvement from her previous best of 19 points during her freshman year at Florida State in 2019. She was supported by Aziaha James with 13 points, Madison Hayes with 11 and Mimi Collins with 10 points, as reported via the Associated Press. Their combined efforts kept the Wolfpack in the lead throughout the game.

For Colorado, Jaylyn Sherrod scored 20 points and Frida Formann added 14, but their efforts were not enough to overcome NC State's strong defense and offense. Aaronette Vonleh, Colorado's leading scorer, was held to just five points.

Post-game, Payne highlighted the game as a learning opportunity for her team: “We'll face a lot of really good teams this year. This is an important lesson to learn early in the season.”

Colorado is now preparing for their next game against Boston University on Nov. 28. NC State will face Vanderbilt on Nov. 29.