NC State women’s basketball head coach Wes Moore has been around for decades. With 34 seasons of head coaching under his belt, you’d think he would know the script for every basketball game and season. 

One thing he might not have imagined was ending up in the Final Four after last year’s disappointing season — and neither did most others. NC State started the season unranked in the preseason AP Top 25 poll and at a meager eighth in ACC preseason polls, the Wolfpack was picked to finish eighth.

Take this doubt, mix it with some bitter taste and add a pinch of vagabond ladies of the court, and you’ll end up with Wes Moore’s cookbook — and that man whipped up something really sweet. 

The preparation time for this recipe takes a year, and the first sprinkle of ingredients starts with the 2022-23 roster. 

The roster wasn’t necessarily bad — the team of mostly seniors and graduates broke even in ACC play and finished with a 20-12 record. After getting a bid into the NCAA Tournament, the team was unable to make it past the first round, a long call away from the Elite Eight appearance a year prior.

The thing that made last season inherently disappointing was the remarkable run Wolfpack women’s basketball had from 2019-2022. With the program’s first ACC Title — along with two more back-to-back — and an 82-11 record, it was looking like the only place the Pack could go was up. So what changed? 

For starters, there were multiple roster changes due to the transfer portal and players aging out. Two longtime members of the Pack, star wing Jakia Brown-Turner and guard Diamond Johnson, left Raleigh to play at Maryland and Norfolk State, respectively. Five players from the 2022-23 roster returned for the red-and-white, but otherwise, it was a whole new team.

Junior guard Aziaha James has become Moore’s secret weapon all while growing into herself as a person and player. Starting at NC State during the 2021-22 season, James got a taste of victory her freshman year when the Pack won an ACC Tournament and posted a long run through March Madness. 

James went from scoring 106 points her freshman year to 219 her sophomore season, and it was clear that if given the opportunity, she would rise to the top. 

This season, James has proven herself. With 617 points and counting throughout the season, she’s pressing on the gas with a thrilling momentum. 

In the electric Elite Eight matchup against Texas this past weekend, James led the team in points for the fourth game in a row along with setting a new program record for the most 3-pointers made in a game. 

Other returners to Raleigh include graduate center River Baldwin, graduate forward Mimi Collins, senior guard Madison Hayes and junior guard Saniya Rivers. Each of these players hold an important role for the Wolfpack and have all grown their game. They were all able to play more minutes and raise their total amount of points, rebounds and assists at the same time. 

While James clearly leads the team in points, Rivers follows not too far behind with 431. After her, the field grows much closer; Collins and Hayes are tied with 384 each. 

While offense sells tickets, the defense wins games. Hayes and Baldwin lead the team with rebounds, and Baldwin also holds the title of the most blocks on the team with 43. 

All the players new to the lineup shared a rare characteristic in today’s NCAA landscape: They’re all true freshmen who can ball out.

Freshman guard Zoe Brooks was ranked No. 9 in ESPN’s class of 2023, and she lived up to the hype. With 329 points on her freshman season, the sky’s the limit for the young star. She was joined by fellow freshmen guard Laci Steele and forward Maddie Cox, who have used their playing time to the max. 

With this revamped roster and a struggling season behind him, Moore had to make a quick pivot into one of the toughest territories in collegiate sports: ACC women’s basketball. 

The Wolfpack completely changed; with a 31-6 record and a 13-5 conference season, it’s clear to say the Pack is back. 

Here are a few more accolades that the ladies have gotten this season: seven ranked wins, including a dominant win over then-No.2 UConn, an ACC Championship finals appearance and an appearance in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. 

This appearance in the Final Four is only the second time in Wolfpack women’s basketball history, with the first coming 26 years ago in 1998. NC State legend, women’s hoops hero and former Wolfpack head coach Kay Yow led that team to Kansas City, Missouri, and now Moore is leading the Pack to Cleveland. 

This weekend is one of the most important in Moore’s long and experienced career. If all goes well, he should be getting his own statue outside Reynolds Coliseum, right next to Yow.