Coming off its sixth win in a row, the women’s basketball team plays host to Xavier (4-3) at Reynolds Coliseum at 7 p.m. tonight. N.C. State (8-1) extended its winning streak last Saturday at Temple as junior guard Shayla Fields chipped in 19 points in a 57-52 win.

“They were double-teaming Khadijah [Whittington], so I knew somebody else had to step up,” Fields said. “Also, in the second half against Temple we played great defense. We’re going to have to play even better defense against Xavier if we want to come out with a win.”

At this time last year, the Wolfpack was trying to set itself up for ACC play and even postseason. And the team had a seven game winning streak going from late November to late December.

“A win streak like this one is really big,” redshirt freshman guard Megan Zullo said. “It keeps the momentum going, it keeps us confident, keeps us ready to go and ready to head into ACC play.”

Amber Harris, a 6-foot-5-inch forward from Indianapolis leads the Musketeers in scoring, averaging 17.1 points per game.

“We know Amber Harris is a very good player,” Whittington, a senior, said. “She plays inside and out, so we know that we have to contain her. They also have some very athletic guards, so we know we are up against a good team and we just have to play solid defense and work together.”

The team has confidence that its defense will be able to slow down Xavier and its offense.

“We’ve looked at the tapes and we think we’re going to beat them in man-to-man defense,” Fields said. “If we have to go zone, then we will.”

Nonetheless, State still believes that Xavier will come out strong and make the match-up a competitive one.

“They’re going to be ready to play,” Zullo said. “Anybody who comes in to play against N.C. State and Coach Yow is going to bring all of their energy and intensity and do everything they can do to beat us.”