As we come closer to postseason play, the No. 5 NC State women’s basketball team is fighting to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament once more. With a 21-3 record and wins over five ranked teams, there have been several outstanding individual performances thus far.
Before jumping into player grades, it’s important to go over some criteria. The first criterion that a player needed to meet in order to earn a grade is at least 150 minutes played on the season, essentially a rotation-level player. Next, it’s important to contextualize each grade based on the role a player plays. For example, a C for senior center Elissa Cunane wouldn’t be the same as a C for freshman guard Aziaha James, because Cunane plays a much more prominent role and has much more to go off of.
Without further ado, let’s see how each member of the rotation fared in grading.
F Jada Boyd
Fresh off winning Co-Sixth Player of the Year last season, junior forward Jada Boyd was absent to begin the year, recovering from an injury. Boyd, along with graduate forward Kayla Jones, left a massive chasm in the Pack’s rotation for the season opener against No. 1 South Carolina. The Wolfpack went on to lose by just nine points without Boyd and with Jones on a minutes restriction, but having those players could’ve changed the tide of that game.
Boyd’s averages are down from last season, partly because of her recovery and partly because of a stacked rotation, but she’s had her fair share of highlights. Boyd is averaging 6.3 fewer minutes per game than last season, but her efficiency is up and in her two starts, Boyd had a combined 35 points on 13 of 22 (59.1%) shooting.
Grade: B
F Jakia Brown-Turner
As noted earlier in the season, junior wing Jakia Brown-Turner has been phenomenal in the last few weeks, riding five consecutive games where she has finished in double figures and is playing tremendous defense over that time. Her shooting figures were 34.4% before that stretch and she’s now hitting 37.8% of her shots from downtown, joining other members of the Wolfpack in combining for a ridiculous 39.7% clip as a team from deep.
If the Wolfpack wants to make a deep run in the ACC Tournament, NCAA Tournament or both, Brown-Turner is going to be key. When the junior wing gets things going, she’s unstoppable, as was made emphatically clear in the team’s win over No. 3 Louisville. Hopefully for the Pack, Brown-Turner is able to keep her hot streak going.
Grade: B+
G Kai Crutchfield
Graduate guard Kai Crutchfield is the definition of underrated. While she doesn’t necessarily pop off the stat sheet, she’s the epitome of efficiency for the Wolfpack this season, as evidenced by her ridiculous team-high 46.3% 3-point percentage, coming on the fourth-highest number of attempts on the team. Further, Crutchfield is tied for second on the team in steals per game and ranks first in total minutes and minutes per game.
A high mileage player, Crutchfield does a little bit of everything well, despite being relatively quiet on the stat sheet. Crutchfield’s best game of the season came against Florida, registering 17 points on perfect shooting from deep and contributing four steals, but she was incredibly effective for the Pack in the most recent matchup with No. 3 North Carolina, scoring 16, hitting three 3s in the second half that each energized the Wolfpack’s comeback.
Grade: B+
C Elissa Cunane
Senior center Elissa Cunane is a tough evaluation to make. The talent is absolutely there, and she has the ability to go off on a dime, especially when she puts up plenty of shots and actually gets the ball. In her last two games, Cunane has just 12 total shots on great efficiency. Cunane has also stood out in some big moments, putting up 20 and 10 against then-No. 2 Maryland and 23 points against then-No. 16 Duke.
However, Cunane has also had her fair share of struggles. In the season opener against South Carolina, when the lights were the brightest, Cunane put up just eight points. And against a physical frontcourt in Virginia Tech, Cunane shot just 2 for 16 from the field. Cunane’s also posting career lows in points per game and field-goal percentage. If the Pack is going to make a deep run, Cunane is going to have to turn the jets on, much like she did in the ACC Tournament last season.
Grade: B
G Madison Hayes
Because sophomore guard Madison Hayes is a player that doesn’t see many minutes, her grade is not indicative of her overall play. Hayes has been a great hustle player for the Wolfpack off the bench, playing hard defense and giving extra effort when the Pack may otherwise be lacking it. If her role was expanded, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Hayes’ grade expand. As Technician noted earlier this season, Hayes’ per-40 statistics are off the charts and she has earned more playing time either this season or next.
Grade: C+
C Camille Hobby
Junior center Camille Hobby still has a ways to go until she’s a permanent fixture in the rotation, but she has filled in nicely for Cunane in spurts. Averaging career highs in points, minutes and rebounds per game, Hobby is exactly what you need in a backup big, even though she’s a bit raw.
Grade: B-
G Aziaha James
Though James is a fringe rotation piece, she’s been extremely impressive in limited action. In just 10.6 minutes per game, James is averaging five points a contest. Expand those numbers to a per-40 metric and she’s averaging nearly 20 points a night. A vacuum scorer, James is a great player for head coach Wes Moore to have in his back pocket as we head toward the postseason and should have a huge role on next year’s team.
Grade: C+
G Diamond Johnson
Outside of performances against Miami and Louisville, Johnson has had a rough past month, averaging just 9.2 points per game since Jan. 6 as opposed to 12.8 before that. A poor 6 for 23 showing from the floor against Notre Dame saw Johnson earn her lowest minutes total in the following game against Florida State.
Despite the fact that Johnson has been on a downward trend and has come off the bench this season, she still ranks second on the team in points and assists. Further, Johnson’s 34 steals this season are good for first on the team. The margin between Johnson and Crutchfield/graduate guard Raina Perez, who are tied for second on the team in steals, would rank higher than all but four other players on the roster.
Though Johnson has had some rough goes of it, her production early this season against stiff competition can’t be ignored. Her elite fourth quarter propelled NC State over Louisville, and she had 36 combined points against No. 7 Indiana and Maryland. Even amid a shooting slump, Diamond is hitting 38.1% of her 3s.
Grade: A-
F Kayla Jones
As mentioned before, the Wolfpack didn’t look like its normal self against South Carolina in the season opener, and the other part of that is because Jones hadn’t fully recovered from her injury last season. Jones played only 20 minutes in that game but still managed to put up seven points and make an impact. “KJ” does a bit of everything for the Pack and, alongside fellow graduate returnees Crutchfield and Perez, is propelling this team to greatness.
Grade: B+
G Raina Perez
While Perez doesn’t always pop off the stat sheet, the way in which she controls the offense is elite. Perez looks cold and composed when running the offense, ranking first on the team in assists. Further, Perez is shooting 44% from beyond the arc — her 75 total attempts ranking third on the team behind Johnson and Brown-Turner.
The Wolfpack isn’t the Wolfpack without Perez, and that much has been evident in some of the bigger games of the year.
Grade: A+
