Following a strong 28-6 overall record and a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2018 for the NC State women’s basketball team, head coach Wes Moore will be looking to lead the Wolfpack to another impressive season.
The Pack has a deep roster this season led by senior guard Aislinn Konig and sophomore center Elissa Cunane. Konig was listed on the Drysdale Award watch list, highlighting the top shooting guard in women’s college basketball while Cunane was listed on this season’s Lisa Leslie Award watch list, which highlights the top center in women’s college basketball. Notable losses for the Pack include forward DD Rogers and guard Kiara Leslie who was drafted to the Washington Mystics in the 2019 WNBA draft.
The Pack will host its first game in a free exhibition match this Thursday, Oct. 31, against Anderson University at Reynolds Coliseum. Its first official game of the season will be at home against North Carolina A&T University on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
This year’s annual Play4Kay game will be Monday, Feb. 24 against Duke University.
January will be a challenging month for the Wolfpack as it plays at Notre Dame and against Florida State in back-to-back games. In this year’s preseason ESPNW Top 25, the Irish were ranked No. 16 while the Noles were ranked No. 11, ahead of NC State, which was ranked 13th.
Hawai’i Tournament
In late November, the Pack will travel to Honolulu, HI and play the University of Texas, the University of Hawaii and North Texas University in a series of games from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1.
The game against the Longhorns will be the most notable matchup during the tournament, as they are ranked just behind the Pack at No. 15 and received berths to both the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship and the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship last season.
B1G/ACC Challenge
In this year’s Big Ten matchup, the Pack will play No. 5 University of Maryland at home on Thursday, Dec. 5. The Terps were 29-5 throughout the 2018 season and received berths to both the Big Ten Tournament, where they lost the championship game to Iowa, and the NCAA Tournament, where they lost in the second round to 12-seeded UCLA.
Led by senior guards Kaila Charles and Blair Watson, as well as senior forward Stephanie Jones, the Terps are heavy favorites for a very successful season, making this a very important game for the Wolfpack.
These teams last played each other in March of 2018 when the Pack was able to defeat Maryland in a final score of 74-60 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Notable ACC Matchups
At Boston College, Dec. 29: The Pack will start ACC play with an away game against Boston College. These two teams last played each other in December of 2018 when the Pack notched an 85-69 win in Chestnut Hill, MA.
At North Carolina, Jan 9: The Pack will travel to Chapel Hill for a rivalry matchup between the Tar Heels in early January. The Heels were one of only five teams the Pack lost to last season, with a 64-51 loss at home against UNC-Chapel Hill during the regular season. The Wolfpack won later in the season against the Heels in Chapel Hill with a 74-69 final score. A notable loss for North Carolina is Paris Kea who led the team in points and was drafted to the Indiana Fever in the 2019 WNBA draft.
At No. 16 Notre Dame, Jan 12: Notre Dame is another team the Wolfpack lost to in the 2018 season. The Irish won a 95-72 game over NC State in February. Primarily a younger team, thanks to the departure of all five of last season’s starters as well as the transfers of Jordan Nixon and Danielle Patterson, only five players on the entire roster are listed above a sophomore standing.
No. 11 Florida State, Jan. 16: The Noles split their series between the Pack in 2018 with a 75-70 loss for the Wolfpack in the regular season but 69-62 win during the ACC Tournament. Its entire roster will be returning for the 2019 season, including redshirt senior forward Kiah Gillespie who led the Noles in points, rebounds and 3-pointers.
No. 7 Louisville, Feb. 13: The Cardinals won both of their matchups against the Pack last season, including a 92-62 win during the regular season in Louisville and a 78-68 win to knock the Wolfpack out of the ACC tournament. The Cardinals will be without last year’s top scorer Asia Durr, who was drafted to the New York Liberty, but 13 of 16 players on last season’s roster will be returning.
At No. 18 Miami, Feb. 20th: The Pack will close out its season with a trip to Coral Gables to take on the Miami Hurricanes. NC State won its only matchup last season in a nailbiter that ended in a final score of 70-68. With the decision to return from redshirt senior forward Beatrice Mompremier, the Hurricanes are projected to have another strong season.
This year’s ACC Tournament will be held in Greensboro, North Carolina, from March 4-8.
