NC State women’s basketball has been one of the most captivating sports for the Wolfpack. After failing to meet expectations last year, NC State women’s basketball was able to flip the script this year, becoming a consistent top-10 team in the country due in large part to junior guard Saniya Rivers. After winning ACC Sixth Man of the Year last season, Rivers was given the opportunity to become the starting point guard.
She took the role and has never looked back since, helping the Wolfpack to a 25-5 overall record and a 13-5 ACC record. Rivers, who made the midseason cut for the 2024 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy for the national player of the year, excels in every aspect of her game and has many important qualities that make her such a good player.
Clamp artist
Rivers’ six-foot-one frame and athleticism make her a ferocious defender. At first glance, she has all the attributes you would want in a defender, and she backs up every claim on the stat sheet. She is averaging almost one block per game and 2.4 steals per game, placing her third in the ACC. Rivers is also fifth in the conference in defensive rating and second in defensive box plus/minus, both important markers in advanced statistics for elite defenders.
Rivers had multiple great defensive games, but none better than her game against Notre Dame. Up against freshman phenom Hannah Hidalgo, who averaged 25.1 points per game at the time, Rivers was drawn as the primary defender and stepped up to the challenge, shutting out Hidalgo in the first half and holding her to eight points in total.
Clamping the number three scorer in the nation is no small feat, and the accomplishment further proved that Rivers would be a tough matchup for anyone.
Unrelenting energy
Rivers earned the nickname “The Go” from head coach Wes Moore, and for good reason. Her hustle is second to none and is the key force behind the momentum of the Wolfpack. Her defensive prowess usually results in her guarding the best player, and you can guarantee she will give maximum effort on every single drive.
Rivers averaged 34.6 minutes per game this season, meaning she had just over five minutes of rest time per game. Yet, she was still the most persistent player on the court and consistently created fast break opportunities for her squad. In the Wolfpack’s overtime victory against then-No. 19 Syracuse, Rivers played all 45 minutes, only resting during timeouts and halftime.
Against Georgia Tech, she emphasized the importance of playing hard for the entire game.
“You’ve got to play until the buzzer,” Rivers said. “This game was 45 minutes. You’ve got to play until the buzzer and as you can see, anybody could’ve won.”
Pack leader
Her defense and hustle make Rivers better as an individual, but it goes further than that. She is a key leader on this team. After coming off the bench last season, she stepped into an important leadership role and helped turn the team into the powerhouse it is today. She isn’t afraid to make the tough decisions, making her the primary guard whenever the team needs a bucket, and she made that apparent in NC State’s home victory over UNC-Chapel Hill.
“I don’t like yelling at people,” Rivers said. “But when it comes to crunch time and I have to get my teammates in order, I do what I’ve got to do.”
Rivers’ leadership has led the Pack to the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament, securing an important double-bye that advances them directly to the quarterfinals.
The Wolfpack will play one of Duke, Pittsburgh or Georgia Tech at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 8.
