The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1318516
12 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK N C State women's basketball senior forward Kayla Jones is the Wolfpack's second-leading returning scorer and rebounder in 2020-21. She averaged 10.0 points and 7.1 rebounds per game last season for the ACC Tournament champions. She also posted a clip of 2.5 assists per contest, the most among returning players. After losing four players from last year due to graduation, the Pack will look to Jones for experienced leadership on a young team with only two seniors. The 6-1 forward played most of her minutes at the power forward position in her first three years with the pro- gram, but she is expected to spend more time on the wing this season due to the roster makeup of this NC State team. Jones spoke with The Wolf- packer to detail what she's been up to during the offseason and what to expect from the Pack in 2020-21: Last season ended abruptly but on a high note with the pro- gram's first ACC Tournament championship since 1991. What are the goals for this year's team and does it feel like there is a sense of unfinished business from last season? "We definitely would love to win another ACC championship, but we also hope to go further and compete for an NCAA cham- pionship. We have goals and, yeah, we won last year — but it's a new year and a new team. We still have something to prove either way. "We're really just focused on one game at a time and whatever leads us to being successful as a team. We just try to become better as the season goes on and work on the little things." What have you worked on individually over the offseason that Wolfpack fans should expect to see more of on the court this year? "Mainly handling the ball more. This year, I could poten- tially be playing the three more than the four position, so just knowing how to get my teammates open and executing. "I want to be better at spacing the floor, and I would love for my shot to be more consistent. I'm really big on making plays for my teammates so they can do their thing." Head coach Wes Moore has mentioned that he wants to play GETTING TO KNOW: SENIOR WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FORWARD KAYLA JONES Jones led the Wolfpack with 7.7 rebounds per game during the 2020 ACC Tournament championship run. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS " We definitely would love to win another ACC championship, but we also hope to go further and compete for an NCAA championship. Jones on the team's goals for the 2020-21 season