As a student at NC State and naturally a fan of its athletics programs, I, like most, was ecstatic for this year’s sports seasons after what transpired last year. I mean, who wouldn’t be after we were graced with two Final Four runs and a College World Series appearance on top of five ACC championships?

Saying that my expectations haven’t been met would be an understatement, to say the least. After enduring a 6-7 football season that included a 41-point dismantling to Tennessee, a 59-35 loss to Clemson and a disappointing, last-minute Military Bowl loss to East Carolina, my hopes were high for both of our Final Four teams to take the court once again.

While men’s basketball failed to capitalize on last year’s run and head coach Kevin Keatts has seemingly spent more time complaining about NIL funding than coaching his team to signature victories, women’s basketball head coach Wes Moore has his team once again in the AP Top 10 on the cusp of yet another NCAA Tournament run.

With the disappointment that a majority of our revenue sports has brought Wolfpack Nation this year, it goes without saying that women’s basketball needs to be NC State athletics’ savior this year — which has been littered with underwhelming performances.

Wolfpack women’s basketball began the season at No. 9 and anticipated to build off its high level of success from the previous year. Returning one of the most dynamic backcourts in the country in senior guards Saniya Rivers and Aziaha James, the addition of graduate forward Caitlin Weimar and the return of many of its starters, there was legitimate hype surrounding the Pack this year.

With early season losses to then-No. 1 South Carolina, unranked TCU and No. 7 LSU, plus the news that Weimar would be out for the season — leaving a question mark at the five spot — it seemed like NC State would be in for an underwhelming year.

“I wish we played a little better, but it’s something that this early in the year, we can go back, learn from, get better,” Moore said after the team’s loss to South Carolina.

And getting better is exactly what NC State did.

Entering February, NC State knew that it would face its most difficult test of the season with five ranked ACC matchups. Not only did the Pack figure out its glaring problem underneath the post through a combination of freshman center Lorena Awou and freshman forward Tilda Trygger, but it cemented itself as one of the best teams in the country.

NC State dominated the so-called “difficult” stretch of its schedule, going on an impressive 4-1 streak capped by a double overtime victory against then-No. 1 Notre Dame.

This is it. These women must be the defining players for NC State’s overall disappointing athletic year. With all the hype surrounding them followed by signature win after signature win, Moore and his team are the saviors that NC State fans have been waiting for all year.

With an ugly fall at Carter-Finley Stadium authored by head coach Dave Doeren and a tumultuous winter in the Lenovo Center thanks to Keatts, Reynolds Coliseum has become the place where Wolfpack Nation’s hopes and dreams have been resuscitated and must be the next home of the women’s basketball national championship trophy.

NC State baseball only seems to be adding to the notion that women’s basketball must carry the athletic department.

The Pack9 is off to a slow 3-5 start, with five straight losses to unranked teams, including a four-run blown save to Liberty. NC State fans are already bracing for yet another team to fail to meet expectations this year after blowing them out of the water the year prior.

It’s safe to say that we as NC State fans were spoiled by win after win and deep tournament run after deep tournament run last season, and it goes without saying that this year has been what some might call a dumpster fire.

So, Moore, James, Rivers and everyone else that makes women’s basketball at NC State what it is, I, on behalf of every NC State fan, ask that you save us from what has been some of the worst sports performances of our lives and be the heroes we’ve been waiting for all year.

We certainly know that you have the star power to do so and hope to be celebrating a national championship later this year in Reynolds Coliseum.