The No. 13 NC State women’s basketball team will host Michigan on Thursday in Reynolds Coliseum.
The Wolfpack (6-0) will face its second Big Ten opponent this season with the Wolverines (5-1). Last week, the Pack beat Michigan’s conference rival Michigan State 78-74. That game was the first of two victories for the team’s road trip to the Cancun Challenge. The Pack also defeated George Washington 69-61.
Redshirt junior Grace Hunter currently leads NC State in scoring this season with an average of 14.8 points per game. She also is second on the team in rebounds (6.7 per game) and assists (3.2 per game). Graduate guard Kiara Leslie is almost averaging a double-double with 13.3 points per game and a team-leading 9.5 rebounds per game.
Michigan will travel to Raleigh coming off another Thanksgiving week tournament. The Wolverines went 2-1 over a three-game stretch at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Florida. The team claimed victories over No. 21 Missouri and Washington on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Michigan fell short to No. 10 Texas 69-52 on Saturday.
Michigan senior Hallie Thome leads the team in scoring through six games with 15.8 points per game.
The Wolfpack has been a slightly better shooting team so far, averaging 47.9 percent on field goals compared to 46.1 percent for Michigan. Despite the small difference in overall shooting, the Pack has been much better from the perimeter, averaging 38.8 percent on 3-pointers versus 28.3 percent for the Wolverines.
NC State has had its most success in the first quarter this year, outscoring opponents by a combined 35 points through six games. The Pack will look to start strong and continue its accurate 3-point shooting in order to remain undefeated heading into December.
