After a 53-41 win against South Carolina Wednesday night, N.C. State (5-2) will be playing its second game of a six-game home stand against Temple Saturday afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum.
Temple comes into the game having already played to other ACC opponents this season in Virginia and Georgia Tech. It is fresh off of a 71-65 loss to Virginia, and won against Georgia Tech earlier in the season 76-62.
Interim coach Stephanie Glance, who is filling in for coach Kay Yow while she undergoes treatment for cancer, said the team will have to be prepared to battle against Temple because of its versatility on offense and execution.
“They have got the potential to score at several different spots,” Glance said. “They are well coached. They are going to run their system. That is why we really feel like we have got to focus on our system and make sure we can run our stuff.”
The Owls are led in scoring by senior forward Kamesha Hairston, who so far this season has averaged 21.6 points per game, including a 31-point performance against Virginia on Wednesday.
Glance said Hairston is a very versatile player who can not only score inside, but can also penetrate and score from the outside very well.
“We have played a lot of players so far this year that are similar to her,” Glance said. “I think she will be a match-up challenge but I think we will be ready for her.”
In State’s victory over South Carolina Wednesday night, the team struggled to score 18 points in the first half while shooting 23 percent, but improved in the second half scoring while scoring 35 points and shooting 52 percent.
Glance said the Pack’s defense in the second half of the game was the key to the team’s offensive improvement from half to half.
“We moved better. We cut better. We penetrated better,” Glance said. “I really think that our defense helped.”
She added the team will have to focus on continuing its defensive intensity against Temple in order to ignite the offense and, she hopes, create easy shots for the team.
Wednesday night’s game also saw huge contributions from freshmen with guard Nikitta Gartrell leading the team in scoring, and Sharnise Beal providing five points and two steals during a key stretch of the second half.
Glance said the freshmen on the team are improving every day in practice, and are helping to compensate for the lack of consistency that upperclassmen have had so far this season.
“They continue to bring so much energy and enthusiasm,” Glance said. “Each day they are ready to go. Every day they are working on things that they aren’t necessarily the best at trying to adjust to this level. I feel they are going to continue to get better and better.”
Wednesday night’s game saw the return of 6-foot-7-inch senior center Gillian Goring, who had yet to play any this season.
Glance said the return of Gillian will provide much-needed height for a team that had been playing junior forward Khadijah Whittington, a traditional forward, at center most of the season.
“She brings a presence on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball,” Glance said. “The defense really has to pay attention to her so it frees up other people. And when we are on defense she can really alter shots and get on the boards.”
While Goring is recovering from injury, State will be losing freshman guard Megan Zullo to a stress fracture. Zullo has started three games this season and averaged 15.3 minutes per game. According to Glance, Zullo is expected to miss four to six weeks.
Saturday’s game will be the fourth game, and second home game, since Yow began her leave of absence.
Despite the obvious emotional loss the team encountered when Yow began the leave of absence, Glance said the team has handled the temporary loss of Yow well and is staying focused on what is to come.
“They are handling it as well as they could,” Glance said. “Coach Yow is just a great person and great coach, and they are very connected to her. Now you remove her from that situation and now it’s like a loss to a certain extent. They are giving a tremendous effort to stay focused on the court and work on the things we need to work on.”