GREENSBORO, N,C. — It wasn't long after No. 9 N.C. State edged No. 8 Tennessee that Wolfpack sophomore guard Zamareya Jones weighed in on how her team hung on.

“We're all dogs,” she said.

The comment drew an eye roll from her coach a seat over.

“The question is what kind of dog,” Wes Moore said, drawing chuckles. “There's Chihuahuas and there's dobermans.”

There was no question about that in the last two years, with gamers like Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers forming a star backcourt that helped the Wolfpack win 58 games and reach a Final Four. They’re gone now, but Moore got the first sign of who might be ready to step up in the clutch between Jones’ fourth-quarter play and the strong debut of Vanderbilt transfer Khamil Pierre in Tuesday’s 80-77 win.

Pierre had 21 points and 14 reboun

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