Women’s basketball looks to bounce back against Georgia Tech

Drew McNatton, Correspondent • January 9, 2018

Senior forward Chelsea Nelson makes a layup during NC State’s 79-55 win over Tulane on Dec. 3 at Reynolds Coliseum. Nelson contributed 16 points, 3 assists and 8 rebounds as the Wolfpack went into winter break at 7-2.

Wednesday, the NC State women’s basketball team hosts Georgia Tech at Reynolds Coliseum after both teams suffered losses to ranked teams on Sunday.

Both teams are going into this game with 12-5 records and a 1-3 record in the ACC. Georgia Tech is currently ranked 29th by the USA Today coaches poll, while the Pack did not receive any votes from the committee.

NC State’s offense so far this season has averaged 67.9 points per game, led by senior forward Chelsea Nelson with 13.9 points per game and redshirt junior guard Kiara Leslie with 11.7. Redshirt sophomore guard Kaila Ealey leads the team in assists with 79 through the first 17 games of the season.

NC State keeps opponents to just 57.3 points per game and is led by senior center Akela Maize, who leads the team with 33 blocks. Ealey has 24 steals on the season, which leads the team, followed closely by Leslie with 16 and Nelson with 15.

Story continues below advertisement

NC State will be looking to end a two-game home losing streak after starting off the season with eight straight home wins; the Yellow Jackets have lost two in a row on the road, and are currently 2-2 away from Atlanta this season.

Georgia Tech’s offense ranks 119th in the nation, scoring 69 points a game led by guard Francesca Pan, who is averaging just under 16 points a game this season; just behind her is forward Zaire O’Neil with 12 points a game.

Defensively, the Jackets surrender 55.9 points per game, which is 17th in the nation. The size of the Jackets could be a problem for NC State as more six-foot players play for the Jackets compared to the Wolfpack at eight to seven, but more of the Georgia Tech players are 6’2 or 6’3 instead of 6’0 or 6’1.

NC State needs Maize to have a big game defensively for it to have a great chance to win and the offense needs to shoot well on open shots that it gets, as many shots could be blocked or at least well-contested due to Georgia Tech’s height advantage.

Both of these teams could use this win to gain momentum for upcoming ACC games, as many of their big games are coming up in a tough conference.