It’s hard to describe the impact a player can have on a program. All it takes is one special player to give a program new life and become a cornerstone of the school. Luckily for No. 9 NC State women’s basketball, it found three of them.

In the Wolfpack’s final home game of the regular season, the crowd at Reynolds Coliseum took time before the match against Wake Forest to honor senior guards Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers, graduate guard Madison Hayes and graduate center Lizzy Williamson. NC State’s veteran guards have been the heart and soul of the team for the last two years — all three have eclipsed 1,000 career points — and the Wolfpack faithful celebrated them as such.

“It was emotional seeing them out there knowing it was the last regular-season game in Reynolds,” said head coach Wes Moore. “With what they’ve done for this program, take a team to the Final Four … that’s a legacy type thing. That’s not easy to do and obviously they all played major parts in that.”

James and Hayes followed similar paths at NC State. Both committed to the red-and-white, but never found much playing time throughout their time as underclassmen. But as Moore developed his guards, they bloomed into bonafide stars. James became the Wolfpack’s top option and biggest scoring threat, while Hayes turned into an elite 3-and-D player with a knack for rebounding.

“Staying the course,” James said. “We love the program, we love the fanbase, we love the coaches. Just staying the course and staying true to ourselves and working from the bottom to the top.”

On the other hand, Rivers spent her freshman year at the University of South Carolina — one of the best women’s basketball schools in the nation — but never got much playing time. She transferred to NC State as a sophomore, where she became a do-it-all player. Scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defending; it didn’t matter. Rivers made plays on both sides of the court.

“I came to NC State for my family to be able to support me in North Carolina,” Rivers said. “To be able to walk on that platform with them by my side, it feels amazing. The waterworks haven’t hit me yet, but they will.”

However, after the pregame festivities finished, the Wolfpack got straight to business in its 78-57 steamrolling of the Demon Deacons. NC State kept its foot on the gas for the full 40 minutes as it didn’t trail for a single second, holding Wake Forest to just 33% from the field and 20% from beyond the arc.

“Defense is something we have been struggling with this season,” Rivers said. “Team defense is better than individual defense, but that’s what team defense is for. We helped very well. If we hold teams to under 70, then we should win as long as we’re doing the little things.”

As the starters didn’t play much due to the score, James scored 18 of her 21 points in the first half and made six total 3-pointers. With her performance on Thursday, James moved up to No. 8 on NC State women’s basketball’s all-time list of 3-pointers made with 169, passing current assistant coach Ashley Williams and just two away from tying Kai Crutchfield, who was James’ teammate in 2022.

“Coach Ash pushed me every day, and Kai pushed me since I was a freshman,” James said. “Without them, I wouldn’t be here. I owe so much to them.”

Hayes was quiet in the first half but came to life in the third quarter, scoring 10 of the Wolfpack’s 16 third-quarter points. Hayes finished the game with 14 points and nine rebounds, just one board short of her fifth double-double of the season. But the game meant much more than stats for Hayes — it was an opportunity to celebrate her time at NC State with her family.

“Just seeing my family in the stands and being able to appreciate them for all the sacrifices that they made for me throughout the journey that I’ve had,” Hayes said. “There’s always been ups and downs. I’ve fought through adversity, and they’ve always been there for me outside of basketball. It just goes to show that love triumphs everything.”

Though the loss of the three veterans hurts, the future is bright for the Wolfpack in sophomore guard Zoe Brooks and freshman guard Zamareya Jones. Brooks emerged as the Wolfpack’s second option, scoring 17 points and grabbing six boards, while Jones scored eight points, including a 3-pointer and an emphatic and-1.

NC State still has the opportunity to play in Reynolds Coliseum this season. It’s projected as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, meaning it would host in the Round of 64 and the Round of 32.

With the win, NC State moves to 16-0 and solidifies an undefeated regular-season record in Reynolds. But it doesn’t stop there. After Notre Dame’s loss to Florida State, NC State is now in the driver’s seat in the race for the ACC regular-season title.

With its final regular-season game in Dallas against SMU on Sunday at noon, a win gives the Wolfpack its first regular-season title since the 2021-22 season and the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament.

“I’m excited about the opportunities we have ahead of us,” Moore said. “We just got to make sure Sunday that we go down there, make it a business trip, focus and take care of business.”