The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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80 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BASKETBALL PREVIEW 2018-19 11.6 minutes of playing time per game a year ago, with Rogers averaging 2.2 points and 3.2 boards a contest and Cassell 2.9 points and 4.3 boards a game. "DD is quick and explosive, and can take the ball full court in transition," Batth said. "She's a good passer, which is important when you play the four, and rebounding from the perimeter is a strength." "She has all the tools to be a good de- fensive player, but just needs to be a little more active and aggressive, and look to make plays," Moore added. Cassell, at 6-2, is the heir apparent to the 6-5 Maize in the post. "She is undersized [for a post], but does a great job of using her body to get position," Batth said. "And she has great moves, but just needs to finish." Being a more consistent shooter outside is also a goal for Cassell this season, Moore added. The final returning veteran up front is sophomore Kayla Jones, who saw an aver- age of 3.6 minutes per game on the court last season. She has worked hard to improve her conditioning, according to Batth, and is try- ing to catch up after being limited somewhat last year by an ACL injury in high school. Of the team's three newcomers, 6-5 fresh- man Elissa Cunane may be the rare first-year player who will see more than the usual share of playing time for a freshman. "With most freshmen, they don't have to really perform their first year," Moore said. "Akela didn't get off the bench her freshman season, but she became a very good player by the time she was a senior. "I have no doubt Elissa is going to be a very good player [Cunane shot 10 of 11 in the Pack's intrasquad exhibition Oct. 2], but we need to have that happen right now. And that's why I'm not sleeping well at night. "She's a capable scorer, even out to the three-point line, but as with a lot of freshmen, the biggest thing is rebounding. She needs to get stronger so she can compete on the boards and establish position on the block." Esra McGoldrick, a 6-2 forward, joins the list of NC State's most long-distance recruits, coming from New Zealand. A good shooter with three-point range, McGoldrick is facing the typical challenges of all first-year players — adapting to life in the strongest women's basketball conference in the country. "How quickly she can adapt to a whole new environment with tougher academics, a new country and playing against everyone who's pretty talented is the key," Moore said. That also goes for 6-4 freshman Jada Rice. "We need her to take advantage of her size and get position," Moore said. A physical player who "can take a hit and give one," according to Batth, Rice is also catching up to the speed and athleticism of ACC basketball. The Pack Will Face A Challenging Slate The non-conference slate of 13 games once again provides its own set of challenges. All told, the Pack will face 18 teams that went to postseason tournaments, headlined by de- fending NCAA champ Notre Dame. "We made a commitment the last two years to have a very competitive schedule to not only prepare us for the ACC, but help us as far as making the NCAA Tournament and hosting the first rounds," Moore said. "It's good to have teams that may not have familiar names but high RPIs on the schedule — but you can't afford to get beat." The Irish are the prohibitive favorites for the top spot in the ACC, followed closely by defending conference tournament champion Louisville. The ACC led all conferences in NCAA bids with eight last year. "Last March, April, May, I felt good about our record, the NCAA performance, and our ranking," Moore said. "But now we're starting over. We've made strides, making it to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 11 years, and hopefully we can build on these things. But at the end of the day, it comes down to hard, dirty work. "All those rankings didn't matter when we were picked to finish near the bottom. And they won't help us now that we're picked to be in the top. We have to get out there, grind away and get better." ■ Redshirt junior point guard Kaila Ealey had a breakout season in 2017-18, improving her scoring average from 2.9 to 8.9 points per game while ranking fourth on the team with 5.3 rebounds per contest. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN 2018-19 NC State Women's Basketball Schedule Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET) Nov. 1 Anderson University^ 7 p.m. Nov. 7 Belmont (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Nov. 11 Kent State (ACCNE) 2 p.m. Nov. 15 Vanderbilt (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Nov. 18 Radford (ACCNE) 2 p.m. Nov. 22 vs. Michigan State# 6:30 p.m. Nov. 23 vs. George Washington# 4 p.m. Nov. 29 Michigan% (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Dec. 2 Old Dominion (ACCNE) 2 p.m. Dec. 5 Hampton& (ACCNE) 10:30 a.m. Dec. 8 at Georgetown 1 p.m. Dec. 15 Maine (ACCNE) 6 p.m. Dec. 21 at Chattanooga 7 p.m. Dec. 30 Davidson (ACCNE) 2 p.m. Jan. 3 Duke* (Raycom) 7 p.m. Jan. 6 at Boston College* (ACCNE) 2 p.m. Jan. 10 Pittsburgh* (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Jan. 13 at Virginia* (ACCNE) 2 p.m. Jan. 20 Virginia Tech* (Raycom) 12:30 p.m. Jan. 24 Clemson* (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Jan. 27 at Georgia Tech* (ACCNE) 2 p.m. Jan. 31 at Wake Forest* (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Feb. 3 North Carolina* (ACCNE) 2 p.m. Feb. 7 at Florida State* (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Feb. 13 at Syracuse* (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Feb. 18 Notre Dame*+ (ESPN2) 7 p.m. Feb. 21 Wake Forest* (Raycom) 7 p.m. Feb. 24 at North Carolina* (ESPN2/ESPNU) 12 p.m. Feb. 28 at Louisville* (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Mar. 3 Miami* (Raycom) 2:30 p.m. Mar. 6-10 ACC Tournament$ TBD ^ Exhibition; # Cancun Challenge at Cancun, Mex - ico; % ACC/B1G Challenge; & Education Day; * ACC game; + 14th Annual Play4Kay Game; $ at Greens- boro, N.C.; ACCNE — ACC Network Extra