NC State women’s basketball concluded the 2022-23 season much earlier than expected, dropping a 64-63 decision to the Princeton Tigers on Friday, March 17. Chronic weaknesses, including a lack of depth, an inability to come out with energy after the break, the absence of a true offensive leader and trouble making smart decisions during the final minutes all contributed to the Pack’s untimely loss.

“It’s a tough loss, heartbreaking,” said head coach Wes Moore. “I’m proud of our players and the way they competed, and I tip my hat to Princeton.”

From the opening tip, it was clear that the Tigers (24-5) would not be an easy opponent for the Wolfpack (20-12). Both teams initially struggled to put points on the board, but Princeton drew first blood, racking up six points before the red-and-white could get on the scoreboard.

After NC State’s starters failed to score for nearly four minutes, graduate forward Mimi Collins came in off the bench and immediately made her presence felt, hitting an and-1 jumper just seconds after entering the game.

Collins’ energy and willingness to attack made her a crucial spark for an otherwise flat-footed offense; she scored eight of the Pack’s first 10 points, including another and-1. In the last few minutes of the quarter, the rest of the team began to follow suit, aggressively attacking the Tigers’ defense instead of passing around the perimeter. By the end of the first frame, the Wolfpack led 18-17.

Despite sophomore guard Aziaha James’ lower leg injury at the start of the second quarter, the momentum was increasingly turning in favor of the Pack. The team began to recognize and take advantage of its glaring size advantage — no one in Princeton’s starting lineup stands above six feet tall, while the red-and-white’s roster boasts a number of six-foot guards, not to mention six-foot-five graduate center River Baldwin.

As the Wolfpack began to pass more effectively and utilize its size to cash in on easy shots around the rim, the team outscored the Tigers 16-8 in terms of points in the paint. 

NC State’s size gave it a clear defensive edge as well. Although Princeton’s guards were talented in terms of getting to the rim and scoring off of ball screens, the Pack did a good job of getting into the passing lanes. Just seconds before the buzzer sounded to end the half, sophomore guard Saniya Rivers grabbed a steal and scored a fastbreak layup on the other end to earn a six-point advantage heading into the break and put the Wolfpack faithful on its feet. 

At this point, things seemed to be trending in the right direction for the red-and-white — the team seemed to have found its groove offensively and had adjusted well defensively. On top of that, NC State had already racked up 41 points against a Princeton defense that ranks fifth in the nation for opponent’s points per game, giving up an average of 52.5 points per game.

After the break, however, the game took a turn for the worse for the Pack. 

The Tigers came out swinging, beginning the second half on a 10-0 run to take the lead and establish that they weren’t ready to go home just yet. Similar to the first quarter, NC State couldn’t manage to score until around the six-minute mark, when Baldwin hit two free throws to end the Pack’s nearly four-minute scoring drought. Once again, it seemed the Wolfpack just needed that initial spark to get the ball rolling. Soon after, James returned to the game and the red-and-white went on to outscore Princeton 10-6 for the remainder of the quarter to hang on to the lead heading into the final frame. 

Even though the Pack only managed to put up eight points, the fourth quarter went relatively well for the red-and-white. Offensively, the team did a good job of taking what the defense gave it instead of forcing shots. Defensively, NC State continued to do what it’d been doing the entire game — containing Princeton’s guards and limiting scoring opportunities where it could. With under six minutes to play, the Wolfpack had secured an eight-point lead and was beginning to taste the victory. 

However, in what seemed like a matter of seconds, everything that had been going well for the Pack came crashing down. After taking that eight-point lead, NC State failed to score for the remainder of the contest. 

“We got the shots we wanted, but a lot were rimming out,” Collins said. “Their defense was good, but our shots just weren’t falling in during that stretch.”

By some miracle, the Wolfpack still led by two with just four seconds to go, despite not scoring for over five minutes of play. With just 12 seconds remaining, it seemed that despite a scary stretch, NC State would be heading to the second round, whether the team deserved it or not — but Princeton guard Grace Stone had other plans. 

After stealing a risky inbounds pass, Stone raced down the court to sink a 3-point dagger that put the Tigers up 64-63, leaving just four seconds on the clock for the Pack to attempt to score. In a heartbreaking final possession, the red-and-white couldn’t even get a shot off, forced to end its season wondering what could’ve been for a talented team that always seemed to come up just short when it mattered most.

“I just hate that it ended this way and I couldn’t help them at least take another step and see where that led us,” Moore said. “But I appreciate all they’ve done and the way that they’ve contributed to our program and how they’ve carried themselves.”