After a year of playing basketball in Broughton High School, the NC State women’s basketball team brought the magic back to the newly renovated Reynolds Coliseum this season.
Led by ACC Coach of the Year Wes Moore, the Wolfpack (22-7, 12-4 ACC) clinched 12 conference wins for the first time since the 1997-98 season, when the Pack reached the Final Four under NC State legend Kay Yow.
State has proven itself in conference play with wins over then-No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 6 Florida State, No. 12 Duke and No. 9 Louisville. The Pack has played spoiler to the top programs of the ACC, while establishing itself as a vaunted opponent in the process and the Wolfpack women will look to continue that trend in the ACC tourney.
Now, while the Pack was able to knock off some of the top teams in the country in the regular season, will it be able to replicate those performances in the postseason?
Notre Dame, Florida State, Duke, Louisville, Syracuse and Miami are all entering the tournament in the AP poll, meaning the Pack has a difficult road to the championship game on Sunday.
NC State will enter the tourney as the No. 4 seed, earning a double-bye as it will begin competition on Friday in the HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina. The Pack will face the winner of Clemson vs. No. 14 Louisville.
The Tigers are in the bottom-tier of the ACC, while the Cardinals are a perennial contender for the championship; therefore, a stacked Louisville roster with the likes of sophomore guard Asia Durr and junior forward Myisha Hines-Allen should advance to the quarterfinal round.
In the last meeting with the Cards, the Wolfpack upset then-No.9 Louisville, 72-70, on a buzzer-beater in overtime. Senior guard Miah Spencer hit a runner from the free-throw line as time expired to seal the victory. Spencer did her usual thing, tallying 22 points and corralling 6 rebounds.
While NC State defeated Louisville earlier in the season, conquering the Cards a second time is no easy task.
Louisville (25-6, 12-4 ACC) dominates the glass on a nightly basis, ranking No. 23 in the NCAA in rebounds per game. Hines-Allen, arguably the best player for the Cards, is nearly averaging a double-double with 13.5 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game.
The Pack surprisingly outrebounded the Cards, 42-40, in the previous matchup; however, this statistic can be misleading, as Louisville grabbed 17 offensive boards to State’s nine. The Wolfpack is going to struggle if passes reach the paint.
The Pack cannot match the Cards’ size, but if it can close passing lanes to the Louisville bigs, NC State can force low-percentage shots. NC State defended well last time against the Cardinals, as Louisville shot a poor 32.4 percent.
The Wolfpack’s success is due to its team effort and consistent defensive energy. NC State has the ability to defeat the Cardinals and move on to the semifinal round, where it could face the winner of Wake Forest/Virginia vs. No. 3 Notre Dame (27-3, 15-1 ACC).
The Wolfpack is the dark horse to secure the ACC Championship, which would be its first title since 1991. Look no further than Spencer, redshirt senior guard Dominique Wilson, senior guard Ashley Williams and senior forward Jennifer Mathurin for the experience to achieve that feat.
Spencer and Wilson have earned All-ACC Second Team honors for the second consecutive year. Spencer is the only player in NC State women’s basketball history to score 1,500 points and record 450 assists in a career. Spencer currently sits fourth in program history with 489 assists and 16th in points with 1,523. Wilson has become an aggressive scorer as well, averaging 13.2 points per game, while shooting 84.8 percent from the line, a top-30 mark nationally.
Williams has been a sniper from beyond the arc, sinking 71 3-pointers, good for first on the team and 43.6 percent on the season.
Mathurin is a do-it-all forward for the Pack. In her senior campaign, she averages 9.5 points per game, 5.7 boards per game and is second on the team in free-throw percentage at 84.2.
The Wolfpack clearly has the tools to advance far in the ACC Tournament, including senior leaders, solid ball movement, sound rebounding and the ACC Coach of the Year; however, NC State will be tested early with a likely matchup against No. 14 Louisville Friday at 11 a.m.
Senior forward Jennifer Mathurin flexes and screams in celebration of a quick layup that went in, drawing the foul for the and-1. Mathurin had 13 points and four rebounds during the 80-60 rout of UNC on Feb 23. in Reynolds Coliseum.
