The undefeated No. 14 NC State women’s basketball team will spend Thanksgiving in paradise, preparing for its weekend tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Wolfpack’s matchups are as follows:
Friday, Nov. 29: vs. Texas at 7:30p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 30: vs. Hawaii at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 1: vs. North Texas at 5:00 p.m.
Texas
The 3-2 Longhorns are currently on a two-game winning streak that they will look to continue when they face the Pack Friday evening. As a Big 12 team, Texas’ resources have trained this team for this top-ranked matchup against NC State, but the ladies from the Pack have never been a group to back down from a fight.
Forward Joyner Holmes from the Longhorns has shown to be one of the biggest assets this team has as she’s currently averaging a whopping 18.8 points per game with 18 assists. Standing at 6-foot-3, the senior will be a tough one to guard by the net.
Junior forward Kayla Jones from NC State will be locked onto Holmes most of the game as her defensive skills have outshined the court. Just this season, Jones has totaled 37 rebounds, 30 of which have been collected defensively, averaging 7.4 per game. While Jones stands a few inches shorter than Holmes, her speed and agility more than make up for the height difference.
Hawaii
Also sitting at 3-2 on the season are the Rainbow Warriors, which lost their last home game against Texas Southern. Hawaii will be facing North Texas Friday evening before NC State’s tipoff against Texas.
Center Lauren Rewers from the Warriors will post a big threat up at the net with six total blocks on the season with 47 points. Standing tall at 6-foot-4 with the advantage to reach over top, Rewers is averaging 6.2 rebounds per game.
Sophomore Elissa Cunane will be placed with Rewers as the two centers go head to head on the court. Cunane is coming back from a historical freshman season and is continuing her success on the paint as she’s 4-for-5 on 3-pointers and showcasing a 0.846 free-throw percentage this season.
North Texas
The 2-3 North Texas Eagles have had a slower start to their season after recently losing its first away match to CSU-Bakersfield. As the Eagles and Wolfpack are matched up on the last day of the tournament, each team will be looking to finish off the weekend with a win.
Guard Summer Jones will be one of the Eagles’ main targets on the perimeter as she has taken a team-high 32 3s this season. While she is only shooting .219 from behind the arc, she is the Eagles’ main threat from the outside.
Senior guard Aislinn Konig will be defending and going up against Jones and while the senior is currently shooting a career-low .200 from beyond the arc this season the matchup between two shooters should be fun to watch.
