The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1456098
MARCH/APRIL 2022 ■ 37 BY TIM PEELER he legacy has been estab- lished and the expectations are set. Regardless of how head coach Wes Moore and his 2021-22 women's basket- ball squad finish the current season, the program has es- tablished a record of success that goes back to the earliest days of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the groundbreak- ing efforts of Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow. The two-time defending league tour- nament champions clinched their first ACC regular-season title since 1990 to earn the top seed in this year's tour- ney (March 2-6), entered the postsea- son ranked No. 3 in the nation and car- ried the nation's longest streak of being ranked in the top five at 32 weeks. Moore and his team could have chosen to cut down the nets — a tradi- tion NC State men's coach Everett Case introduced to col- lege basketball — f o l l o w i n g t h e i r resounding 95-53 victory over Syra- cuse on Senior Day at Reynolds Coliseum. It just didn't seem right, though, for a team that is now beyond premature celebrations. Instead, the coach and athletics ad- ministrative staff asked the ACC if they could have the regular-season trophy on hand to surprise the players if they were able to clinch the title against the Orange. Once they did, the players didn't want to let it go, ferrying it from Kay Yow Court to the media room for the postgame press conference to the family reception in the back hallways of the old coliseum. The trophy lingered there longer than the blue smoke used to stay in Reynolds' rafters after big games. "This was just something we wanted really badly," senior center Elissa Cu- nane said. "It was something we fo- cused on from the beginning of the sea- son. It was our goal, because it hadn't been done here in a long time. "We still have more goals, of course, but this is something we really wanted." Moore was able to revel in the moment without thinking too far beyond the reg- ular-season finale at Virginia Tech Feb. 27. "I thought that was pretty awesome," he said, his hair still soaking wet from the court-side sports-drink bath he received following the win right in front of his two bosses, NC State chancellor Randy Woodson and director of athletics Boo Corrigan. "It definitely made the day even more special. You don't often get to do that on your home court on Senior Day." Yet this was exactly the kind of success Moore, a Yow assistant from 1993-95, had hoped to build when he returned to Ra- leigh nine years ago, taking over a program that had gone to just one NCAA Tourna- ment in the previous six years under Yow, interim coach Stephanie Glance and cur- rent Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper. Other than the remarkable 2006-07 season, when Yow had to take a leave of absence before returning to guide her team to the NCAA Sweet 16, it had been a rocky transition from the heyday of Yow's program, which advanced to the Sweet 16 or further 11 times in the first 27 years that the NCAA sponsored the women's national tournament and made a trip to the 1998 Final Four. That finish nearly a quarter century ago was the best in program history and Yow's only participation in her sport's biggest weekend. Moore's veteran team is now positioned to reach that stage again, something that didn't happen after the 2020 ACC Tour- nament title, when the NCAA Tourna- ment was canceled due to COVID, or af- ter winning last year's crown, when the Wolfpack's postseason run was derailed in part due to an injury to Kayla Jones. Cunane, an All-American and last year's ACC Tournament Most Valuable Player, led the way with averages of 13.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game dur- ing the regular season. The Pack has also relied on a trio of graduate students — Jones at forward, and Kai Crutch- field and Raina Perez at guard — while receiving an injection of energy off the bench from sophomore newcomer Dia- mond Johnson, who ranked second on the team in scoring (11.2). "The great thing about this team is we really don't care who the leading scorer is every night," Jones said. "I think our selflessness is what makes us win." She certainly won't get any disagree- ment from her coach. "Throughout the season, this group has been pretty locked in," Moore said. "It's why they all came back when some of them could have moved on. They want to do some special things." Moore has played a bigger role in put- ting together his team than he would ever take credit for. With a unique mixture of experience, toughness and homespun humor, t h e a cco m p l i s h e d leader has now built successful programs at four schools, be- ginning at Maryville College (1987-93), F r a n c i s M a r i o n (1995-98) and Ten- nessee-Chattanooga ( 19 9 8 -2 0 1 3 ) , w i t h only a brief break to serve his three-year apprenticeship under Yow. This year, he put together one of women's college basketball's toughest schedules, which includes regular-sea- son losses to No. 1 South Carolina, No. 17 Georgia and its lone ACC loss on the road at No. 20 Notre Dame. His team might not be perfect, but it's likely more prepared to be successful in the winner- take-all postseason. After a couple of victories that required fierce rallies, the Pack clinched the regu- lar-season title with margins of victory of — in order — 15, 31, 42 and 2 points. "We just have to stay hungry," Jones said, "because there are a lot more goals out there." Keeping the success rolling will be harder than ever, Moore knows. The reigning ACC Coach of the Year is los- ing four stalwarts and who knows who else in today's world of college athletics. He fully expects to look toward the transfer portal to find more players, since he signed no freshman recruits last year T " Throughout the season, this group has been pretty locked in. It's why they all came back when some of them could have moved on. They want to do some special things. " Head coach Wes Moore