The 2020-21 NC State women’s basketball season is set to tip off this upcoming Wednesday, Nov. 25 at Reynolds Coliseum against North Florida.
This will only be the second matchup between the Wolfpack and the Ospreys, the first was back in 2016, resulting in a 78-52 win for the Pack. Wednesday’s matchup also marks the first time NC State will take the court since its victory in the 2020 ACC Tournament.
North Florida is returning from a 16-15 2019 season, ending in a loss in the semifinals of the ASUN Championship to Florida Gulf Coast.
The Ospreys will be starting the 2020-21 season without its second- and third-best leading scorers from last year. 2019 senior guards Janesha Greene and Adrienne Jackson both graduated last spring, leaving North Florida with two big gaps in its scoring depth. Greene averaged 13.3 points per game, just 0.3 points below leading scorer redshirt senior forward Jazz Bond. Jackson averaged 10.8 points per game while also averaging a team-high nine rebounds per game.
In an effort to fill these gaps, North Florida added three transfers during the offseason, junior guard Marissa Mackins from Temple, graduate student guard Erin Jones from Rhode Island and senior forward Tatiana Thompson from Georgetown.
NC State also lost five graduates this offseason and will be looking for ways to replace one of 2019’s top scorers, senior guard Aislinn Konig. The Pack lost a lot of depth at the guard position as Konig, graduate Kaila Ealey, redshirt senior Grace Hunter and senior Katie Wadsworth all graduated.
Last season, the Ospreys only averaged 63.7 points per game compared to the Pack’s 71.6. The Wolfpack also seemed to have the stronger defense, allowing an average of just 57 points per game compared to North Florida’s 62.5.
Ranked eighth in the first AP poll of the season and projected to finish second in the ACC, this will be an excellent test as to how the Pack will keep the ball rolling after such a successful 2019-2020.
The game is set to tipoff at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25. It will be broadcast on ACC Network, and you can follow @Techsports on Twitter for live updates.
