After a first-round exit in last year’s NCAA Tournament, NC State women’s basketball has advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third time in four seasons. The Wolfpack swiftly defeated No. 14 seed Chattanooga before a 79-72 victory over No. 6 seed Tennessee.
The Wolfpack is set to take on Stanford in Portland, Oregon, on Friday. NC State will have its hands full facing the strong forward duo of Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen, who lead the Stanford Cardinal.
Brink is a 6-foot-4 forward who is a serious threat on both sides of the ball. She averages 17.5 points on 51.2% shooting while recording nearly 12 rebounds per game — third in the NCAA. Brink also leads the nation in blocks per game with 3.6.
Her strong defensive skills were most recently seen in a matchup against Iowa State center Audi Crooks. After scoring a career-high 40 points in round one of the tournament, Crooks faced off against Brink in round two, where she scored just 10 points on 3-21 shooting. Brink has recorded five or more blocks in the last three games.
Iriafen is a 6-foot-3 forward who is one of the best paint scorers in the tournament. She averages 19.2 points per game while shooting 54.6% from the field. She also averages 11.1 rebounds per game, making her and Brink the best rebounding duo in the nation.
In the second round against Iowa State, Iriafen scored a career-high 41 points en route to an overtime victory. She also shot a perfect 9 of 9 from the free throw line, meaning the Wolfpack must do everything it can to avoid fouling her and giving Stanford free points.
The key to beating Stanford is the paint defense — neither Brink nor Iriafen can consistently shoot from beyond the arc. Expect to hear graduate center River Baldwin’s name called frequently as she is one of the two tallest players on the Wolfpack and the only player with the height to match up against either forward. The 6-foot-5 center is in the midst of her best season, averaging 10.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.
Another key factor in this game is the lack of home-court advantage. Because of its high seed, the red-and-white played its first two games at Reynolds Coliseum in front of the Wolfpack faithful. It proved to be a huge advantage as the Pack is 17-1 at home but just 7-4 in away games. However, it is also 5-1 at neutral sites, with the one loss coming in the ACC Championship game against Notre Dame.
The Pack needs to be more consistent in its second-half attack as well. In its matchup against Tennessee, the Wolfpack led by 18 at halftime, but midway through the fourth quarter, it was only leading by two. The Lady Vols resurgence can be largely attributed to a 19-9 run in the third quarter. The Wolfpack must keep its foot on the gas to advance to the Elite 8.
The Pack is one of four teams in the nation to have both its women’s and men’s teams in the Sweet 16. Both teams will play on Friday, with the men’s game beginning at 7:09 p.m. and the women’s game beginning at 7:30 p.m., meaning Wolfpack Nation will have a busy Friday night supporting its teams on their historic NCAA Tournament runs.
