The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1419104
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 ■ 33 2021-22 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PREVIEW Returning Leaders Points: Senior center Elissa Cunane (374, 16.3 per game) Rebounds: Cunane (191, 8.3 per game) Assists: Sixth-year senior guard Raina Perez (118, 4.7 per game) Blocks: Cunane (20, 0.87 per game) Steals: Fifth-year senior guard Kai Crutchfield (27, 1.2 per game) Three-pointers made: Junior wing Jakia Brown-Turner (40, 1.6 per game) FG percentage: Cunane (53.3, 130 of 244) FT percentage: Crutchfield (94.7, 18 of 19) Minutes: Crutchfield (33.7 per game) BY JUSTIN H. WILLIAMS ake no mistake, last season was a success for the NC State wom- en's basketball team. In a year riddled with distractions amidst a pandemic, the Wolf- pack had arguably one of its best campaigns in school history and accomplished numerous program-firsts. The Pack won a second consecutive ACC Tournament championship for the first time in school history. And with the league's automatic bid to the Big Dance, NC State earned the program's first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Wes Moore's squad also beat the best of the best. Last year's team became the third in the last 20 seasons of women's college basketball to beat two top-ranked teams in one season. With road wins over then-No. 1s South Carolina and Louisville, the Pack became the only team in modern women's college basketball history to claim both victories on the road and during the regular season. Three NC State players earned first-team All-ACC honors: then-junior center Elissa Cunane, senior forward Kayla Jones and sophomore wing Jakia Brown-Turner. In his eighth year with the program, Moore was named National Coach of the Year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Cunane even earned first-team All-Amer- ica honors from ESPN. The only thing missing from the mag- ical campaign was an NCAA Tourna- ment result that properly reflected how special a season it was. For all the Wolfpack accomplished during the winter, its run in the Big Dance ended earlier anticipated. Af- ter coasting its way through the first two rounds in San Antonio, the Pack fell 73-70 to fourth-seeded Indiana in the Sweet Six- teen. Considering that the team was deemed one of the nation's four best entering the tournament, the result was a disappointment for a squad that had bigger goals. The Pack hasn't forgotten, and it's using the early exit in March as motivation. To Cunane, it's a reminder to the team to not lose focus during the offseason. "Yeah, we've won back-to-back ACC championships, and we want to do it again. But we also want to go further in the NCAA Tournament than we have," she said. NC State now returns all eight of its top scorers from last season's ros- ter and adds even more talent with two new transfers and a three-member freshman class. The core of the group remains the same, but with some newer complementary pieces. Graduate guards Raina Perez and Kai Crutchfield elected to use their extra year of eligibility and will return as starters from last year's team. The 2021 ACC Co-Sixth Player of the Year, junior forward Jada Boyd, is also back after averaging an efficient 11.5 points and 5.9 rebounds in 21.7 minutes per game. However, she will miss significant time early in the season, per Moore, after suffer- ing a torn tendon in her hand. To add to last year's talented rotation, the Wolfpack picked up two transfer all- M Fifth-year senior guard Kai Crutchfield was named to the 2021 All-ACC Tournament team after averaging 7.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in the Pack's three victories. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS