Any Mussleman
After weeks of practice and a tune-up against Premier Players in its lone exhibition game, the women’s basketball team will be playing its first regular season game Thursday at 7 p.m. against High Point University in the first round of the preseason NIT at Reynolds Coliseum.
The Panthers, who have been selected to finish second in the Big South Conference this season according to preseason Big South polls, are coming off of their best season (20-10) since becoming a Division I school in 1999.
High Point returns four starters from that team in preseason All-Conference Leslie Cook, and 2006 Second Team All Big-South Katie Ralls. The team also returns eight players off the bench from last season’s team.
With the Panthers returning so many experienced players, Coach Kay Yow said the Panthers have players that know their system and should present State with a very competitive game — a game the Pack will have to show up to win.
“They are a team that compliments each other and that fits together well,” Yow said. “They have a lot of great shooters, have a player to bang inside, and have a couple of good penetrators. Coach Loy has done a very good job.”
With High Point being located in North Carolina, Yow expects both the Pack and the Panthers to be excited about playing in-state competition, but added that the Panthers will probably be more passionate.
“Any in-state school that comes to play at N.C. State is going to be fired up,” Yow said. “This is a big game on their schedule. This is a big game on our schedule too, but I don’t know if our players can reach the same emotion level to start this game that High Point will.”
With both senior center Gillian Goring and freshman center Chanita Jordan still injured, State will be missing their two tallest players and centers.
Yow said while the team adapted well to the lack of height last week in their exhibition game, the Pack will probably face a bigger challenge height wise against better competition like High Point — but the challenge is something State can handle.
“I don’t sell this team short at all,” Yow said. “Even thought they may be shorter inside, they play tall. They play with a lot of passion and emotion. They play off of each other.”
With the Panthers being the first regular season contest for the Pack, senior guard Danielle Wilhelm said the mood of the team is extremely anxious and brewing with excitement.
“We finally get to get our season started,” Wilhelm said. “We get to have fun. We don’t have to keep practicing all the time. Now we get to practice and play a game.”
She added alongside emotional anxiousness the team is physically and mentally ready for this game and the season ahead.
“We are doing extremely well in practice,” Wilhelm said.
“Our freshman have stepped in and have done a phenomenal job, as well as our returning players. The team definitely wants a championship and you can tell it in the way we are practicing and the way we played in our exhibition game.”
Whilhelm added one freshman in particular has stepped in and exceeded expectations — Nikitta Gartrell, who led the Pack in scoring in their lone exhibition game with 20 points on 9-10 shooting.
“Nikitta is one of the quickest players I have ever seen,” Whilhelm said. “Given some more games, she is going to really stand out and do extremely well.”
Gartrell along with five other freshman will be experiencing their first collegiate regular season game.
Freshman and returning players combined will taste their first dose of competition this season against the Panthers, something Whilhelm said will be exciting to see after learning in practice over the past month.
“We haven’t been able to see what we can do against a real team,” Whilhelm said. “It will be interesting to see how well we do, and take what we have done over the past few months and improve it.”