It happened to Ohio State. It happened to LSU. It happened to Ole Miss. And now, it has happened to UConn.
The Huskies were the latest victims of an upset, the kind of loss that has been rampant in the first week of this women’s college basketball season. Second-ranked UConn went into a sold-out Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Sunday and lost to an unranked N.C. State team, 92-81.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma did not mince words about the defeat:
“We got our asses beat. Plain and simple.”
For N.C. State, the win was a historic one on multiple levels. It’s the first time the Wolfpack had beaten the Huskies since 1998, snapping a six-game losing streak in the series for N.C. State. It’s also the first time an unranked N.C. State team has beaten a team in the top-five of the AP Top 25 Poll since 2016.
And it was the first time since 2001 that a UConn team allowed an opponent to score 92 points in regulation, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Saniya Rivers led the way for N.C. State with a career-high 33 points to go along with a career-best-tying 13 rebounds for her first-ever double-double. Rivers also had five assists, three blocks and three steals in a stat-stuffing effort. She’s just the third player since the 2009-10 season to tally that stat line, according to HerHoopStats.
Rivers said after the win:
“I just knew I had to show up for my teammates… The fans were amazing. It felt good. Their energy was a big reason we came out swinging tonight.”
Spin cycle 🔄@Ihoop___22's having a day 🔥#NCAAWBB x 🎥 ABC / @PackWomensBball
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) November 12, 2023
Aziaha James added 18 points for the Wolfpack, while freshman Zoe Brooks – the latest in a long line of rookies to shine in opening week – chipped in 12 points and four boards.
Perhaps most surprising was that the Wolfpack outrebounded a UConn team armed with All-American Aaliyah Edwards patrolling the paint, 41-29. N.C. State also outscored the Huskies 12-6 in second chance points and 28-14 in fast break points.
Edwards had 21 points and six rebounds. Paige Bueckers, in her second game back from the injury that kept her out all of last season, had 27 points and three assists.
Not even appearances by Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner – who played an exhibition at nearby Duke on Sunday morning with Team USA – could boost the morale of UConn and will the Huskies to a win.
Now it’s a party. #ncaaW pic.twitter.com/1u5sDxmHvA
— Mitchell Northam (@primetimeMitch) November 12, 2023
The win marks a bit of revenge that was a long time coming for Wes Moore and his program. In the 2022 Elite Eight, the Wolfpack lost to UConn in double-overtime in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The Wolfpack players who played in that defeat have moved on, but Bueckers, Edwards and Fudd were on that team for the Huskies.
With multiple ranked teams losing this week to teams unranked or ranked lower than them, expect a shakeup in Monday’s AP Top 25 Poll.
How about this stat? With No. 2 UConn losing today and No. 1 LSU losing on Monday, this is the first time in at least 25 years the Associated Press preseason poll Nos. 1 and 2 lost before the 2nd poll was released, via @ESPNStatsInfo
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) November 12, 2023
