Heading into its 20th game of the season, the NC State women’s basketball team is preparing to travel to take on conference archrival UNC-Chapel Hill in Carmichael Arena on Thursday night.
The Wolfpack (14-5, 3-3 ACC) is coming into this matchup receiving votes in the AP and USA Today polls and fresh off a tightly contested home victory against Syracuse to secure head coach Wes Moore’s 100th win in his fifth season as the Pack’s head coach.
In the matchup against the 14-win Orange, NC State proved its ability to stay in the game after 12 lead changes and seven ties. The Pack’s leaders in scoring included seniors in center Akela Maize and forward Chelsea Nelson and redshirt sophomore Kaila Ealey, who all recorded 11 points.
The two other starters, redshirt junior guard Kiara Leslie and sophomore Aislinn Konig, also were strong producers in the conference tilt with eight points apiece.
Leaders that have stood out on the scoreboard and the floor for the Pack include the senior tandem of Maize and Nelson and the newcomer Leslie.
Nelson leads the team with an average of 13.6 points and 9.6 rebounds a game. Maize is a huge presence in the paint both offensively and defensively with a .569 field goal percentage and 10.2 points an outing. Transfer Leslie has already made an impact in her transition to starter with 11.6 points and 5.8 rebounds a contest.
The Tar Heels (13-5, 3-2 ACC) have been sporadic all season with losses to nonconference opponents in Hampton and University of South Alabama and an eight-game win streak which was followed by three consecutive losses. UNC is coming into this matchup with a three-game streak where they have won by a combined 11 points.
The Tar Heels are led by guard Paris Kea who leads the team with 18.9 points and 6.3 assists per game. Chapel Hill also boasts two other starters that average more than 15 points in guard Jamie Cherry and center Janelle Bailey.
These two teams are very similar in playing style with out-rebounding opponents and taking advantage of turnovers. UNC claims a better offensive unit that shoots .453 and dishes out 17.2 assists per game. NC State is stronger on defense with allowing opponents only 56.5 points a game with a field goal percentage of .364 while also recording a plus 10.8 rebounding ratio on the season.
The key stat to watch for in this matchup will be rebounds. The team that can grab the most boards and keep the other from scoring might prove to be the difference in this head-to-head matchup of offense versus defense.
