Fresh off a week where it won two conference games and improved to No. 18 in the latest AP Poll, its highest regular season ranking since Dec. 16, 2001, the N.C. State women’s basketball team (18-3 overall, 5-2 ACC) will face perhaps its stiffest test of the season when No. 8 Maryland (16-3 overall, 4-2 ACC) visits Kay Yow Court in Reynolds Coliseum on Thursday.
The Wolfpack hold a 41-35 lead all-time in the series, but has dropped seven of the last eight contests between the schools.
In its final season in the ACC before moving to the Big Ten Conference, Maryland has had a fine season under head coach Brenda Frese, despite dropping its last two games at Virginia and in College Park to No. 2 Notre Dame.
The Terrapins started league play with wins in their first four games, including an impressive, 79-70, victory over the then-No. 10 North Carolina Tar Heels at Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill in their conference opener.
The Terps are led by senior forward Alyssa Thomas, a two-time AP All-American and two-time ACC Player of the Year. Thomas ranks third in the NCAA and first in the ACC this season with 16 double-dou bles, and also leads the nation with two triple-doubles.
Maryland is ranked eighth in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 84.8 points per game and is outscoring the opposition by 24.7 points per contest, fifth in the NCAA. The Terrapins have the third-best rebounding margin in the NCAA, out-rebounding their opponents by almost 13 boards each game.
N.C. State has prospered under first-year head coach Wes Moore. Heading into Thursday’s clash, the Wolfpack has won three of four games versus ranked opponents, the most since the 2006-07 campaign when State finished 25-10 under former head coach Kay Yow. The last time the Pack defeated four ranked teams in one season was in 2004-05, when State went 4-4 against schools in the top-25.
A point of emphasis for Moore entering Sunday’s game in Atlanta against Georgia Tech was consistency both at home and away. The Wolfpack had lost two of its previous three games away from Raleigh, and only won three road games total in 2013.
State’s over the Yellow Jackets, coupled with Maryland’s loss to Notre Dame, moved the Pack a half-game ahead of the Terrapins into sole possession of fourth place in the ACC.
State enters its game against the Terps with an undefeated record in Reynolds Coliseum. However, with 35 all-time wins against State, Maryland trails only North Carolina (41) and Virginia (38) in victories over the Pack.
Tipoff for the final ACC regular season between the two schools is set at 7 p.m and the game will be shown on ESPNU.
