Khamil Pierre scored 21 points and her final basket put No. 9 North Carolina State into the lead with 46 seconds left in an 80-77 neutral-site victory against No. 8 Tennessee in Tuesday’s season opener in Greensboro, N.C.

After four lead changes in a two-and-a-half-minute span, Pierre scored in transition to give the Wolfpack a 78-77 lead. Zamareya Jones made two free throws with two seconds remaining to finalize the score.

NC State’s Tilda Trygger had 14 of her 19 points in the first half, Jones finished with 18 points and Zoe Brooks added 13. The Wolfpack trailed by 10 points in the second quarter but closed the gap to 44-40 by halftime.

Talaysia Cooper scored 17 of her 23 points in the first half for Tennessee, which also received 15 points from Janiah Barker and 13 points from reser

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