After wrapping up the 2022-23 season with a heartbreaking loss to Princeton in the first round of the NCAA tournament, NC State women’s basketball enters the 2023-24 season with something to prove.
The Pack is eager to show that its ability to compete with top tier programs and dominate in ACC play is not a thing of the past. The red-and-white finished eighth in the ACC last year, ending its three-year streak of finishing on top in conference play.
The Wolfpack showed flashes of greatness last season, including wins over then-No. 10 Iowa and then-No. 19 UNC-Chapel Hill, but a couple of rocky stretches and a disappointing postseason left much to be desired.
NC State’s road to redemption won’t be easy, but head coach Wes Moore has never been one to shy away from a challenge. While the road may be difficult, it presents the red-and-white with the perfect opportunity to prove it can hold its own on the court and can hang with the best teams in the nation.
Non-conference opponents
The team is set to face a number of talented non-conference opponents, including two ranked squads. The red-and-white is set to open the season Tuesday, Nov. 7 against the UNC Charlotte 49ers at Reynolds Coliseum.
If the game plays out as expected, this should be a fairly easy game for NC State, an opportunity to test out different lineups and observe how the newcomers fit in. Last year, the red-and-white defeated the 49ers 96-48 in an early season matchup that was a blowout from start to finish, and this year should be no different.
After taking on UNC Charlotte, the Pack will jump straight into the fire when it welcomes No. 2 UConn to Raleigh on Sunday, Nov. 12. The Huskies defeated NC State 91-69 when the two teams last met this time last year in Hartford, Connecticut.
Despite losing stars Lou Lopez Sénéchal and Dorka Juhász to the WNBA, UConn returns guards Paige Beuckers, Azzi Fudd and Caroline Ducharme to its starting lineup. Beuckers was out with an injury last year, but this year the Wolfpack isn’t so lucky — Beuckers and Fudd make for a lethal backcourt duo that will pose a hefty challenge for an NC State’s guards.
The red-and-white will close out its four-game homestand with games against Rhode Island and Elon before traveling to the U.S. Virgin Islands to play in the Paradise Jam Nov. 23-25, where it is set to take on Kentucky, Cincinnati and No. 20 Colorado.
Neither Kentucky nor Cincinnati finished with impressive records last season, but that doesn’t mean they should be counted out — both teams play in incredibly competitive conferences and have the ability to give the Pack a run for its money.
Colorado, on the other hand, poses an obvious threat. The Buffaloes return four players who averaged double-digit scoring in 2022-23, which will force NC State to make a solid defensive effort across the board if it wants a shot at winning.
Following the Paradise Jam, the red-and-white will return to Raleigh to host three more teams, including Vanderbuilt as a part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. Similar to Kentucky, the Commodores don’t exactly jump off the page in terms of last year’s record and statistics, but their experience in the tough SEC conference will surely present a challenge.
In another exciting rematch from last season, the Pack will take on South Florida in a road game. The Bulls had three players average over 15 points last year, but only one of them, guard Sammie Puisis, returned this year. Puisis’ impact on the court cannot be overstated — in the Bulls 65-57 loss to NC State last December, she was the most mobile player on the floor, challenging the Wolfpack to keep up with her on both defense and offense.
Conference opponents
With a total of five ACC squads ranking in the top 20 of the AP preseason women’s basketball poll, conference wins won’t be easy to come by. NC State has the ability to compete with any team in the ACC, but if it hopes to finish anywhere near the top of the conference, the team needs to be ready to bring its A-game every time it steps out onto the floor.
The Pack is set to open conference play against Virginia on Dec. 31 in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers sat near the bottom of the ACC standings for the majority of last year, and the Wolfpack defeated them by 25 points in their first meeting of 2023 before losing 59-71 to Virginia a little over a month later. The Cavaliers haven’t made any significant changes to its program, so NC State can expect to see what it saw last season: a gritty team that’ll burn the red-and-white if they’re not careful.
Next up, the red-and-white will host No. 18 Florida State before traveling to Blacksburg to take on No. 8 Virginia Tech. This sequence provides that red-and-white an opportunity to establish itself as a force in the ACC early on — or completely relinquish any momentum it stands to gain in non-conference play. Against the Seminoles, the key to an NC State victory will be stopping sophomore guard Ta’Niya Latson. This will be no easy feat given that Latson led the ACC in scoring last year, averaging 21.3 points per game.
The reigning ACC champion Hokies will present an even greater challenge, with guard Georgia Amoore and center Elizabeth Kitley stealing the show.
Amoore’s ability to set up the perfect shot for any one of her teammates while also creating opportunities for herself makes her difficult to contain because she’s able to impact the game from anywhere on the floor. Kitley, on the other hand, is nearly unstoppable in the post — the two-time ACC player of the year was one of just three players in the country to average 18 points and 10.5 rebounds.
Virginia Tech capped off the 2022-23 season with a run to the Final Four, where it lost to Louisiana. For the Wolfpack, this game will serve as a good metric to gauge not only how the team measures up in the ACC, but on the national level as well.
As usual, NC State has the rival Tar Heels circled on the calendar. The Wolfpack is set to clash with the No. 16 UNC Chapel Hill twice: first in Raleigh on Feb. 1 and then on the road on Feb. 22. The two teams split last year’s games, with each squad collecting a win on their home court.
North Carolina returns guard Deja Kelly but lost star guard Kennedy Todd-Williams to the transfer portal. Kelly scored 18 points in the Tar Heels’ loss to the Pack last year, but if she’s going to continue to put up big numbers she’ll need another guard to step up in Todd-Williams’ absence.
However, it’s unlikely that the guards will be the Wolfpack’s biggest issue when it comes to UNC — forward Alyssa Ustby has proven to be a problem in the post and on the boards, and without former NC State center Camille Hobby, the Pack will need someone to step up and take charge down low.
The Pack’s February schedule features three other ranked ACC squads in addition to the Tar Heels in No. 17 Louisville, No. 10 Notre Dame and another matchup against the No. 8 Hokies.
The Cardinals suffered a big loss when star guard Hailey Van Lith transferred to Louisiana, but they should by no means be counted out. Transfers Kiki Jefferson and Jayda Curry joined Louisville in the offseason, with plenty of scoring talent between the two of them to fill the void that Van Lith left.
Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish return most of the players that gave the Wolfpack problems last year, including Sonia Citron, Olivia Miles and Maddy Westbeld. Notre Dame also welcomed McDonald’s All-American and five-star recruit Emma Risch, whose speed and scoring ability will be sure to give the Pack some trouble. Last year, the red-and-white pulled off a win over Notre Dame at Reynolds Coliseum before falling to the Irish in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament.
Although the ranked squads on the schedule are the Wolpack’s main targets, there are plenty of other talented ACC teams that the red-and-white would be foolish to overlook because that’s the nature of this league. Every team has the potential to take down NC State on an off-night, so the team has to be careful not to let its guard slip.
With that being said, teams such as Duke, Miami and Georgia Tech have the potential to rise in the standings as the season progresses.
