# SEC Women's Basketball: Kentucky Wildcats Dominates NC State Wolfpack 93-78 **Published:** 2026-11-08 — **By:** Stacy Stanfield **Category:** games — **Type:** game-recap **Source:** https://secscouts.com/news/sec-women-s-basketball-kentucky-wildcats-dominates-nc-state-wolfpack-93-78 **Teams:** [Kentucky](https://secscouts.com/kentucky/) **Players:** [Asia Boone](https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/player/_/id/5177067/asia-boone), [Ajsa Sivka](https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/player/_/id/5454842/ajsa-sivka), [Clara Strack](https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/player/_/id/5174442/clara-strack), [Savvy Swords](https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/player/_/id/5454844/savvy-swords) --- CHARLOTTE, N.C. (11/07/2026) — Ajsa Sivka poured in 32 points and Clara Strack added 24 more as the Kentucky Wildcats dominated the NC State Wolfpack 93-78 on Saturday at Spectrum Center, delivering a commanding performance powered by elite perimeter shooting that left the Wolfpack unable to keep pace. ## How It Happened Kentucky wasted no time establishing control. Sivka opened the scoring with a driving layup 18 seconds in, and the Wildcats quickly found their rhythm from beyond the arc. Strack connected on a 24-foot three-pointer to push the lead to 5-0, and Me'Arah O'Neal extended it to 8-2 with her own three moments later. NC State threatened to stay within striking distance — Khamil Pierre knocked down a three-pointer to cut the deficit to five at 10-5 — but Kentucky responded with a first-quarter burst that shifted the game's tone entirely. Sivka drained back-to-back threes at 6:45 and 5:49 to push the lead to 18-5, and Asia Boone added another from 25 feet to make it 21-5. O'Neal pushed it to 24-10 before NC State closed the first quarter on a 14-5 run to trail 29-24. NC State mounted its most significant challenge early in the second quarter. After Sivka extended the Kentucky lead to 32-26 with another three, the Wolfpack knotted the game at 32-32 on a Qadence Samuels three-pointer with just over eight minutes remaining in the half. For a moment, it looked as though NC State had found its footing. ## Turning Point The sequence that decided this contest came in the second quarter's final seven minutes. After NC State tied the game at 32, Sivka immediately restored Kentucky's edge with a three at 7:09 to make it 35-34. From there, the Wildcats went on a commanding 21-10 run to close the half. Savvy Swords buried consecutive three-pointers — both assisted by Strack — and Strack capped the half with her own 25-footer off an Emily McDonald feed to push Kentucky's advantage to 56-44 at the break. That 12-point halftime lead proved insurmountable. Kentucky shot 53 percent from the field and 46 percent from three in the game — a stark contrast to NC State's 40 and 27 percent, respectively. The Wildcats also held a commanding rebounding edge, 38 to 29, further underlining their dominance across every phase. The third quarter offered more of the same. Strack opened with a 10-foot jumper, Sivka extended the margin to 61-46 with another three, and after NC State briefly trimmed the gap, Strack and Sivka each hit additional threes to push the Kentucky lead to 70-56. Kentucky took a 72-58 edge into the fourth quarter and closed out the 93-78 final. ## Star of the Game Sivka was the story, delivering a performance that set the tone from opening tip. She finished with 32 points — fueled by a barrage of three-pointers throughout all three productive quarters — along with five rebounds and three assists. Her first-quarter output alone helped Kentucky seize momentum that NC State never fully recovered. Strack was nearly as impactful, finishing with 24 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, connecting on multiple threes and functioning as a primary facilitator in Kentucky's ball movement. Swords contributed 14 points and five rebounds, and Boone added nine points. For NC State, Pierre delivered a remarkable individual effort — 34 points and five rebounds — that kept the Wolfpack's final score respectable. Zoe Brooks added 13 points, and Samuels chipped in eight points and six rebounds. Despite Pierre's output, the Wolfpack's nine team assists compared to Kentucky's 20 illustrated the disparity in how effectively each team generated quality looks. ## What It Means For the Kentucky Wildcats, this performance signals a potent perimeter attack backed by genuine scoring depth. Four players reaching double figures, combined with a 46 percent three-point clip, makes this a difficult team to gameplan against heading further into the 2026 season. For the NC State Wolfpack, the loss exposed a gap in team-wide offensive production beyond their leading scorer. Pierre's near-35-point outing in defeat underscores the burden she carries, and the Wolfpack will need a more distributed scoring effort to compete with high-efficiency opponents. NC State's ball-security — just six turnovers to Kentucky's 15 — provides a foundation to build from as they look to find more consistent contributors around Pierre going forward. --- *Original article: [SEC Women's Basketball: Kentucky Wildcats Dominates NC State Wolfpack 93-78](https://secscouts.com/news/sec-women-s-basketball-kentucky-wildcats-dominates-nc-state-wolfpack-93-78) — SEC Scouts*