The first half was exactly what Wes Moore said it was. Ugly. Liberty was more physical, got downhill whenever they wanted, and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds to NC State’s six by the break. With Zoe Brooks out, the Wolfpack looked like a team still figuring out who was supposed to do what, and the free throws (they left 14 points on the table by the end of the night) didn’t help. Moore was blunt afterward: “They just blew our doors off.”

Then the second half happened. NC State outscored Liberty 43-22, flipped the offensive rebounding battle 12-2, and held the Flames scoreless for the final 8:48. The Pack finished with 27 points off turnovers and turned a game that was slipping away into a comfortable 71-47 win at Reynolds.

Khamil Pierre continued to carry the offense. Qadence Samuels grabbed 11 rebounds and kept the group from folding. Annsley Trivette gave them instant energy when she checked in, finishing 4-of-5 from the field with seven offensive boards. And Kamora Pruitt, a freshman who Moore said has “ice water in her veins,” hit three threes in the fourth quarter when the Pack still needed scoring.

Pruitt said her teammates simply put her in the right spots. “My teammates just found me in the right spot,” she said. “I just stayed in rhythm and let the game come to me.” She added that seeing the ball go through the net helped her confidence, and that her teammates trusted her to knock the shots down.

Samuels said the group never let the early struggles get to them. “I never let my head down,” she said. “I would always have positive thoughts and just keep playing hard, keep getting rebounds, keep defending the ball.” On playing a full game without Brooks, she was direct: “Even though we have one of our best players out, we still need to play our game. She’s definitely a big part of the team, but we have other people who were willing to step up into their roles.”

Moore was clear that the second-half response is what he wanted to see, even if the first half was unacceptable. “What turned it around was we defended better and we rebounded,” he said. “I’m proud of them for at least turning that around.” He also made it plain that this version of the team, without Brooks, still has work to do before Saturday’s trip to Seton Hall. Desiree Wooten played all 40 minutes running the point. Free throws still need fixing. And the Pack has to be better at taking away strengths instead of letting teams attack with their dominant hand.

Liberty is a solid team and this will be a good win on the resume later. For now, it’s a reminder that the Wolfpack can respond when things get messy, and that the freshmen are willing to step into bigger roles when the group needs them. The first half was a problem. The second half was a step in the right direction. Seton Hall will tell them how much of it sticks.