The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1436409
TRACKING THE PACK 10 ■ THE WOLFPACKER wolfpacker spotlight DIAMOND JOHNSON Women's Basketball The women's basketball team has ascended to No. 2 in the national rankings — tying its best-ever listing — after an 8-1 start, and a new- comer is helping to lead the way. Sophomore guard transfer Diamond Johnson, in her first year with the Wolfpack, has actually surpassed All-America center Elissa Cunane with 121 points (13.4 per game) and isn't far behind in rebounds, with 50 (5.6 average) to Cunane's 69 (7.7). Johnson also leads the squad with 19 steals, 17 three-pointers and 50 made field goals, and she's tied for the team lead with 26 assists. Her 49.5-percent conversion rate from the floor ranks seventh in the ACC as of Dec. 6, while she is 15th in scoring, tied for 16th in assists per game (3.1), 14th in three- pointers made per game (1.8) and tied for seventh in steals per game (2.3). And she's done all of it while coming off the bench in all but one contest. But that hasn't prevented her from earning accolades — she was the ACC Player of the Week Nov. 29, after enjoying her best scoring performance to date in a Wolfpack uniform in a win over then-No. 2 Maryland Nov. 25. She notched 17 points, eight boards, a team-best five assists and four steals against the Terrapins, then topped it with 24 points, two shy of her career best, in a win over Washington State, which was receiving votes in the AP Top 25, two days later. She also led the team in scoring in its following con- test, netting 19 points in a 66-58 win over No. 6 Indiana Dec. 2. The well-rounded weapon has paced the Pack in scoring in three of its first nine contests, rebounds three times, assists five times and steals six times (including ties). — Ryan Tice/Photo Courtesy NC State Athletics