The No. 17 NC State women’s basketball team season ended with a tough loss to No. 14 Texas in the round of 32 on March 19.
The Wolfpack (23-9, 12-4 ACC) fell short of continuing its outstanding season and advancing to the Sweet 16 with the down-to-the-wire 84-80 loss to Texas (25-8, 15-3 B1G 12). Despite the heartbreaking loss that put the season to a close, there were a lot of great accomplishments by this senior-laden team.
To begin the season, the Wolfpack went 5-0 with all games played in Reynolds Coliseum. The Pack went on to extend this impressive home winning streak in the newly-renovated Reynolds to 10-0 before finishing the season with a stellar 14-2 record. The Pack suffered its first loss of the season in the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands to Kansas State.
The Wolfpack represented the ACC well in the ACC/B1G challenge as it defeated Indiana, 84-70. The ACC went on to win the challenge between the two conferences, 9-5.
The team opened up conference play with the two highest-ranked ACC teams, then-No. 2 Notre Dame at home and then-No. 6 Florida State on the road. Despite the formidable competition, the Wolfpack prevailed and came away with two impressive signature victories. Throughout the season, No. 1 UConn was the only other team to beat both Notre Dame and Florida State.
Following the Florida State game, the Pack went back home to play then-No. 14 Miami. With this matchup, the Wolfpack played three top-25 teams to open up conference play, and ended up going 2-1 in this timespan with a loss to Miami.
Throughout the season, the Wolfpack experienced up-and-down stretches as it lost to unranked Syracuse and UNC-Chapel Hill in the middle of ACC play. After the loss to the Tar Heels, NC State finished the regular season with a 6-1 record, with notable wins coming against then-No. 9 Louisville in Kentucky and the second matchup against UNC, this time at Reynolds.
Postseason play was not all that great for the Pack. In its first ACC Tournament game in the quarterfinals after receiving a double-bye, it lost to Louisville, 59-58. After that, the Wolfpack was given the sixth seed in the NCAA Tournament.
NC State handily defeated Auburn in the first round, but fell just short of beating Texas with foul trouble playing a part in the second round to end the outstanding season.
To commemorate the great season, the team received multiple honors from the ACC. Head coach Wes Moore was named the ACC Coach of the Year and is a Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year semifinalist. Seniors Ashley Williams and Jennifer Mathurin received All-ACC Academic Team honors.
Senior Miah Spencer and redshirt senior Dominique Wilson earned All-ACC Second Team honors. Spencer finished the season averaging 12.8 points per game, 4.8 assists per game and shot 48 percent from the field. Wilson finished the season averaging 13.9 points per game, 2.2 assists per game, 1.6 steals per game and shot 87 percent from the free-throw line.
Four of the five starters — Spencer, Williams, Wilson and Mathurin — will leave the team this year due to graduation. The good news for State is that the team has a slew of backup guards to fulfill the open guard positions left by Spencer, Williams and Wilson, including freshman Aislinn Konig, redshirt freshman Kaila Ealey and redshirt sophomore transfer Armani Hawkins.
The Pack saw three players average double-digit points: Spencer, Wilson and junior Chelsea Nelson. Nelson averaged 11.2 points per game and led the way with rebounds, averaging six per game during the season. Meanwhile, Williams tallied the highest 3-point percentage on the team as she shot 41 percent, converting 73 total 3-pointers.
As a team, the Wolfpack averaged a stellar 71.2 points per game with a plus-12 margin over its opponents this season. The team continued to perform well across the board, as it shot 42 percent from the field, averaged 14.6 assists per game with 38.8 boards per game.
With losing four of its five starters, the team will be looking for the current underclassmen to step up and fill those roles.
Senior guard Ashley Williams goes up for a three. Williams was on fire, making six of 10 from distance, tying her career best for threes made during a game. The Wolfpack dominated the Heels on route to an 80-60 victory in Reynolds Coliseum on Feb. 23.
