The No. 4 NC State women’s basketball team is getting ready for its third conference game of the season, as it welcomes Miami into Reynolds Coliseum Sunday. The game was originally supposed to be against Duke, but the schedule was changed Thursday due to COVID-19 complications in the Blue Devils program.
“It is great to be able to get our scheduled eight games in before we can go home for Christmas,” said NC State head coach Wes Moore after the game against Wake Forest.
NC State (7-0, 2-0 ACC) is coming off a dominant win over Wake Forest, while Miami (4-1, 1-1 ACC) is coming off a close win over North Carolina at home.
As a team, Miami averages 70.6 points, which is currently 14th out of 15 teams in the ACC. However, as Moore mentioned, the Hurricanes will make you feel uncomfortable with their defense. Miami ranks second in the ACC in points allowed per game at 58, just ahead of NC State, which gives up 58.3 a game.
“Miami is a different team now,” Moore said. “They are very athletic, they are going to get after you, and they are going to press some.”
The two main focal points on offense for the Hurricanes are guard Kelsey Marshall and forward Destiny Harden. Marshall averages 14.6 points a game while Harden is right behind her with a 13.2 average. Marshall is known for her ability to shoot the long ball and is shooting 31% so far this season with almost three times as many attempts as anyone else on the team. In the frontcourt, Harden leads the team in rebounding with 6.8 boards a game.
Guard Taylor Mason is another scoring threat for the Hurricanes with 9.2 points a game. The senior has scored in double figures in three of the five games thus far.
In a matchup last year on the road, the Wolfpack narrowly defeated Miami 50-48, after then-freshman wing Jakia Brown-Turner hit a game-winning jumper with two seconds remaining.
Brown-Turner is coming off a career high in points with 23 against Wake Forest. Brown-Turner, alongside junior center Elissa Cunane and senior forward Kayla Jones, will look to stay hot offensively as the Pack averages 83.3 points per game, ranking 32nd in the country and third in the ACC.
After its game against Miami, the Wolfpack will be off until Dec. 31 when it will travel to Georgia Tech. Tipoff is scheduled for noon Sunday, Dec. 20 at Reynolds Coliseum. The game will be televised on ACC Network Extra. To keep up with live analysis from the game, follow @TechSports on Twitter.
