With the 2024-25 basketball season quickly approaching, NC State Women’s Basketball returns to the court. Its return comes with sky-high expectations after its first trip to the Final Four in over two decades last season. Clocking in at No. 9 in the preseason poll, the Wolfpack returns several key faces from last season’s team along with a few new additions.
Let’s take a look at NC State’s roster and hand out some preseason awards.
MVP — Aziaha James, senior guard
Entering her final season in Raleigh, senior guard Aziaha James is fresh off the best statistical year of her collegiate career. In 2023, she started all of the Pack’s 38 contests and earned All-ACC First Team honors. In her first two seasons, James averaged 4.2 and 6.8 points per game, respectively. With a larger role last season, James dramatically upped her scoring to 16.8 points per game while also collecting 4.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists.
For the regular season, James scored double-digit points in 23 games. She tabbed a 32.7% 3-point percentage along with a 40.7% mark from the field. In the postseason, she elevated her game. In the Pack’s three ACC Tournament games, she averaged over 17 points per game. James’ work on the glass improved as well as she averaged nearly eight per game during that stretch.
As the NCAA Tournament rolled around, it was James’ time to shine. In four of the Pack’s five games, she scored north of 20 points with an average of 23.4 per game in March Madness. She continued to improve her shooting from behind the arc as she held a 50% mark during the NCAA Tournament. This included her best game from three in the Elite Eight when she nailed seven 3-pointers.
Expect James to be NC State’s most relied-upon scorer again this season as she has the opportunity to be a 20-point per-game scorer.
Defensive player of the year — Saniya Rivers, senior guard
Two years ago, head coach Wes Moore hit a home run in the transfer portal when he acquired senior guard Saniya Rivers. Proving to be a true dual threat, Rivers has been instrumental in the Pack’s lineup. She has shown her ability to be an offensive threat evidenced by a 33-point game against UConn.
However, Rivers has made even more noise with her defensive presence. Leading the team last season in steals and being the leading returner in blocks, Rivers has proven to be a defensive menace.
Named as both a First-Team All-ACC and All-Defensive selection, Rivers earned several accolades for her role in helping guide the Pack to the Final Four. This included being an honorable mention on the AP All-American team, becoming only the eighth player in program history to be spotlighted by the Associated Press.
She ranked fourth in the ACC in steals per game and averaged nearly a block per game. Her defensive presence was displayed in the regular season as she combined for 14 in back-to-back games against Duke and Clemson. Later in the season, Rivers put together perhaps her most complete performance of the season with a four-steal and three-block showing against Wake Forest.
Breakout player — Zoe Brooks, sophomore guard
Last season, NC State had the same starting lineup most of the year. However, when someone went down, several players provided glimpses into their talents when thrust into the spotlight. One such player was sophomore guard Zoe Brooks. Perhaps one of the best young talents in the game, Brooks was named to the ACC All-Freshman squad last season. Brooks played in all of the Pack’s games last season and earned seven starts along the way while averaging 26.4 minutes per game.
Brooks was a relied-upon player off the bench as she averaged nine points per game in a sixth-player role. Known for her all-around game, Brooks also nabbed 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. It took Brooks very little time to get accustomed to the college level of basketball. In only her 10th game, Brooks put up the second triple-double in program history against Liberty.
A month later, she secured her career-high in points with 19 against Virginia. In the Pack’s long postseason run, Brooks didn’t shy away from the spotlight, starting in the Round of 32. Scoring double digits in four straight games, she averaged 12.5 points for that stretch of games. Brooks also averaged 4.8 boards, 2.3 assists and 2.8 steals in this time frame.
Sixth player — Zamareya Jones, freshman guard
During the offseason, Moore reeled in yet another strong recruiting class. With the class ranked in the top 10, freshman guard Zamareya Jones was at the top of it. Ranked a five-star recruit out of Greenville, North Carolina, Jones was ranked No. 21 overall. A premier talent, Jones was a McDonald’s All-American and was named the North Carolina Player of the Year last season.
In her senior year of high school, Jones averaged 25.3 points per game along with 7.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 4.2 steals. She was a crucial fixture in helping guide her team to a state championship. With some turnover from last year’s squad, NC State will look to fill some holes in its regular lineup.
With a roster that contains several guards, it will be interesting to see how Moore will use the freshman. Even though the Pack will probably lean more on its veteran presence, expect to see Jones as the first player off the bench much like Brooks last year.
