NC State women’s basketball has been dominant so far in its 2023-24 campaign, and, despite graduate center River Baldwin’s recent injury, it’s showing no signs of slowing down any time soon. With just one blemish on its record — a last-second loss to then-No. 14 Virginia Tech on Jan. 7 — the No. 4 Pack currently boasts a 15-1 overall record and a 3-1 ACC record.
Here are a couple important takeaways from the Wolfpack’s performance so far this season.
Balanced attack
NC State’s balanced attack is the primary reason the team has ranked in the top five nationally for the majority of the season. The Pack has six players averaging double digit scoring — freshman guard Zoe Brooks, junior guards Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers, senior guard Madison Hayes and graduate forward Mimi Collins — and a consistent lead scorer has yet to emerge. Collectively, NC State averages 45% from the field, including 35% from beyond the arc.
The red-and-white’s impressive depth and ability to count on a wide variety of players when it needs a bucket presents a difficult challenge for its opponents. A solid rotation of leaders makes it hard for opponents to craft a defensive game plan because they can’t expect to shut down NC State by taking one or two players out of the game or assigning their best defender to the Pack’s top scorer.
Young talent on the rise
An essential part of the Wolfpack’s success thus far has been contributions from its freshmen, specifically Brooks. Most recently, Brooks scored a career high 19 points and led the Pack in scoring in its win over the Cavaliers last week.
In a game against Liberty earlier this season, she recorded the second triple-double in program history with 14 points, 10 assists and 12 rebounds in her first career start.
Brooks has started five of the red-and-white’s 16 games, averaging 4.1 assists and 10.8 points per game.
Freshman guard Laci Steele has also stepped up her game recently, putting up a career high 13 points in NC State’s win over Virginia.
Freshmen center Mallory Collier and forward Maddie Cox have made an appearance in all 16 of the Pack’s games so far. While they haven’t made as significant of an impact on the stat sheet, they’ve stepped up when the starters needed a break and played solid minutes, which is more than a lot of freshmen are able to do on such a big stage.
Lack of inside presence
In the Pack’s Jan. 4 home matchup against then-No. 22 Florida State, Baldwin sustained an ankle injury in the third quarter that head coach Wes Moore estimates will have her sidelined until late January.
Baldwin, an integral piece of NC State’s starting lineup, has been a force in the paint this season. The graduate averages 7.8 rebounds and 11.3 points per game, but beyond her impact on the stats sheet, her presence in the paint has greatly helped to create scoring opportunities for the Wolfpack’s guards. Standing at 6-foot-5, Baldwin draws a lot of attention when she gets the ball inside, which often leaves NC State’s knockdown shooters open to burn opponents on the perimeter or in the lane.
Without Baldwin’s formidable presence inside, the Pack stumbled against the Hokies last week, putting up its lowest point total of the season en route to a 63-62 loss. Virginia Tech center Elizabeth Kitley dominated inside all day long — the two-time ACC Player of the Year finished the game with 12 rebounds and led all scorers with 27 points, including the game winner.
The red-and-white rebounded nicely with a 93-66 win over Virginia, but a blowout win over one of the worst teams in the conference isn’t a great measure of success. In order to be successful in its upcoming games against Miami and Duke — in which it will most likely be Baldwin-less — the Wolfpack will need to find a way to limit points from its opponents’ centers.
