Led by Marta Suarez and Olivia Miles, TCU announces contender status with 69-59 win over No. 10 NC State

RALEIGH, N.C. -- On Sunday afternoon at a sold-out Reynolds Coliseum, No. 10 NC State lost to No. 17 TCU 69-59 in a game that shone a large spotlight on two programs that came into this season facing high expectations despite the major changes their rosters weathered this summer.

The Wolfpack have no seniors on the team for the first time in school history after losing Aziaha James, Saniya Rivers and Madison Hayes to graduation, while the Horned Frogs have 10 new players and four new starters this season.

NC State left the contest still searching for players who could fill the leadership gap and feeling frustrated with their offense after their three starting guards, Zamareya Jones, Zoe Brooks and Qadence Samuels, went a combined 4 of 28 from the field for just 14 points. 

TCU, meanwhile, impressed throughout the fast-paced, physical four quarters to notch its first nonconference road win against a ranked opponent in almost 15 years. Spanish forward Marta Suarez led the way with 26 points, while guard Olivia Miles -- one of the biggest transfer-portal prizes of the offseason -- added 15 points and 14 rebounds. 

"This was a huge win on our journey together," head coach Mark Campbell said. "And it takes moments like these and games like these for your team to grow."

Here are a few things we learned from this early season clash.

Marta Suarez is an absolute star

The 6-foot-3 Spanish forward spent the first two years of her college career with the Tennessee Volunteers before transferring to Cal for the next two seasons. At Tennessee, she mostly came off the bench and averaged less than 16 minutes a game. At Cal, she was a solid starter who averaged 12.4 points and 7.1 rebounds. But this season at TCU? She is averaging 17.5 points per game and looking like a bonafide star. 

Against NC State, Suarez had a lethal 26 points, going 10 of 18 from the floor and 4 of 8 from three. It seemed that every time the Wolfpack went on a run, she knocked down a three-pointer and silenced the crowd. 

"I think it's just fun," Suarez said about playing in front of the raucous Reynolds crowd. "That's what I play for. I love these moments. I love these games. I love on the road with the crowd against you, that will turn me up."

She praised the "intentionality" of the coaches at TCU and said the way Campbell and his staff coach and recruit allows the players to "be the best version of ourselves." 

Campbell said that while he didn't expect Suarez to have such a big personality -- "an added bonus," he said -- he isn't surprised to see her flourishing on the court. Her talent popped out on film when he was recruiting.

"I saw one of the best playmaking forwards in college basketball from studying the film, her guard skills, her passing ability, her versatility. Nothing against anywhere she played before, she just hadn't yet been given the freedom to be used this way," he said. "She's literally our dream stretch forward, because ultimately, she's a guard, a playmaking guard."

The additions of Miles and 6-foot-7 center Clara Silva got the most attention during the summer, primarily because the graduations of Sedona Prince and Hailey Van Lith left TCU with a lot of questions about ball handling and rim protection. But Suarez is the type of versatile player who can take a team from being a dangerous floater to a true contender, and that's exactly what she's doing in Fort Worth.

Olivia Miles is certain TCU is where she is supposed to be

In her four years at Notre Dame, Olivia Miles was a two-time second-team All-American and three-time first-team All-ACC player. After the Fighting Irish lost in March Madness last season, most expected Miles to either declare for the WNBA Draft -- where she was projected to be a lottery pick -- or stay in South Bend for one more season. She shocked the women's basketball world when she went into the transfer portal and landed at TCU. 

When asked by CBS Sports how she feels about her decision to go to TCU four games into the season, she was effusive with praise for the program.

"I feel fantastic. This is absolutely, 100%, ten toes down where I should be. I made the -- perfect isn't even the right word -- decision for me. And I need to grow. This game, I didn't play my best, but I have so much film and I have so much support around me to get me better and get more reps in. And that's just the energy at TCU. It's, 'How can we help you be better?' And that's literally exactly what I needed before I went pro," Miles said.

"I think when I was making that decision, I wasn't exactly in that position. I wasn't as confident in my game, and now I have a support system around me that can help me grow in all areas. And you know, I'm 4 for 18, but he still gives me the ball at the end of the game and trusts me to lead our team. And that's just something incredible. It almost makes me emotional to think about it."

With TCU, Miles has already accomplished something she never did with Notre Dame, despite more than three full seasons competing in the ACC: get a win at Reynolds Coliseum.

NC State is still searching for energy and leadership

NC State head coach Wes Moore knew that it was a risk to make a nonconference schedule as tough as he did, but he wanted to see what his team was made of early in the season. After a season-opening 80-77 win over then-No. 8 Tennessee and a tight 69-68 loss to No. 18 USC, followed this week by a 66-47 win over Maine and this loss to TCU, the Wolfpack are sitting at 2-2 and feeling quite exposed.

"We've got a long way to go," Moore said. "We've got to do a better job offensively. We're still doing too much one-on-one, not reversing the ball, not getting movement, and that's on me. Got to do a better job of trying to make sure we require that."

Slow starts have plagued NC State in all four games this year and the team is having a hard time finding its fight when it gets down.

"I think energy is the biggest part we need right now," center Tilda Trygger, a bright spot in the TCU game with 15 points and 6 rebounds, said. "Coach Moore talks about having energy both in and outside of practice. When shots aren't hitting, we need to do other things like rebounding and paint defense, and today we didn't do enough of that. Everything starts from energy."

For his part, Moore didn't have any answers about where the energy was going to come from. 

"It's been that way in practice, it's been that way in shootaround. You know, everything we do. We don't have a whole lot of energy people on the team," he said. "I guess they're a little bit more solemn or sometimes laid back, and neither one of those are good. We gotta have some energy."