After weeks of practice and only playing against their own teammates, players on the women’s basketball team will have their first taste this season of facing outside competition in an exhibition game tonight.
State will be playing its only preseason exhibition game against Premier Players, a team that comprises former collegiate basketball players, including three former North Carolina players.
Premier Players played Shaw on Monday night and played North Carolina Tuesday night.
Coach Kay Yow said she hadn’t heard a lot about the Premier Players after their game against Shaw, but that she hoped to hear more about them after their game against North Carolina.
She added the Premier Players play different rosters against different teams. Yow said Premier Players would play a similar roster against North Carolina as they would against the Pack, therefore giving the team a better sense of who they would be playing.
After playing each other in practice over the past few weeks, senior guard Danielle Wilhelm said the team is ready for the opportunity to play someone other than itself.
“It gets a little boring playing against each other,” Wilhelm said. “With the intensity we are bringing to practice playing against each other, it will be an exciting game to see us bring that intensity onto the court against someone else.”
Senior center Gillian Goring and freshman center Chanita Jordan, the team’s only centers, will both miss the game because of injury.
With their absence, Yow said the lack of height will be a challenge the team will try to overcome in several different ways.
“We are just going to try to be more scrappy defensively,” Yow said. “Flying around as much as we can. Extend the defense. We don’t want to get caught in a half-court game where we would traditionally use a center.”
She added in exchange for the Pack’s lack of size and height, the team will be playing smaller, quicker players in the post positions. “They are going to be really agile and be able to put the ball on the floor,” Yow said. “It will be our strength versus their strength. It will be a matter of whether or not size and height can take over quickness and athleticism.”
Yow said she doesn’t expect Goring or Jordan back for games before mid-December.
Because the game is an exhibition game and doesn’t affect the regular-season record of State, Yow said the purpose of this game is to get a feel for how the team plays in a game atmosphere, not whether the team wins.
“I want to see everyone play. I want to see what they can do against other competition,” Yow said.
“Some players are better in games than we ever perceive them to be in practice. That is what we will be looking for.”
The game will also be the first college game for the six freshmen the Pack will have playing this season.
As for whether the six freshmen will be ready for their first collegiate game experience, Wilhelm said the seniors have tried to provide leadership leading up to this game, but that no counseling would be sufficient to prepare them for what they will encounter when they step on the court.
“They are pretty confident,” Wilhelm said. “But nothing is going to take away from the nervousness, the excitement and the anxiety of their first college game.”
Wilhelm said a goal for the game, besides winning, is for the team to come out and play a great defensive game.
“Defense is going to be something that we are going to pride ourselves on this year,” Wilhelm said. “We want to keep their shooting under control, keep players within their range and not give up easy shots.”
The exhibition game, along with a closed scrimmage with Charlotte on Friday, will serve as one of the final chances for the team to prepare for regular-season play. The Pack is set to open its regular season next Thursday, Nov. 9, against High Point University.
