The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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38 ■ THE WOLFPACKER game. The latter total ranked second on the team. The 6-foot-1 junior guard, who trans- ferred in from South Carolina last season, has been working on her three-point shot and is ready to take another step forward after averaging 8.6 points per game to go along with a team-leading 5.2 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1 block per contest. Rivers is a disruptive, opportunistic playmaker in passing lanes and has the speed to convert those turnovers into easy buckets. She is the most likely can- didate to start at point guard this season. Aziaha James, a dynamic scorer who provided major energy to the Wolfpack down the stretch last season, could also slot into this year's starting lineup. The 5-9 junior's role expanded rapidly throughout the season, and she ended up averaging 6.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 18.8 minutes per game. By the end of the year, she rarely came off the court and scored a season-high 20 points against No. 11 Virginia Tech in February. One game prior, she helped engineer a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback with 18 points against North Carolina. Madison Hayes, perhaps the best pe- rimeter defender on the team, returns with a good chance to play as the Wolf- pack's third starting guard. The senior is the longest-tenured member of the team heading into her third season at NC State. Hayes started 25 of 32 games last sea- son, scoring a career-high 7 points per game and pulling down 3.8 rebounds. NC State's backcourt will be filled with high- energy guards who can make an impact at either end of the court, and Hayes will be a significant part of that. Katie Peneueta is one of the X-factors for this season. As a team, NC State shot 31.5 percent from three-point range last season. When opponents shut down driving lanes, the Pack struggled to reli- ably hit shots from distance. Peneueta is a junior transfer from Sacramento State, and she ranked sixth in the nation last season with a 45.5 three-point shooting percentage. During her sophomore season, Peneu- eta shot 170 times, and 156 of those at- tempts came from behind the arc. At 6-2, she also adds some size to the backcourt. Peneueta grabbed 5.8 rebounds per game last season. Zoe Brooks, a former five-star pros- pect and ESPN.com's No. 9 recruit in the country, also has a chance to contribute as a freshman. "She does a good job scoring the ball, but she also gets her teammates in- volved," Moore said in March. "It'll be tough as a freshman playing that posi- tion, but we do think she can handle that and help us some." The 5-10 guard, who received Mc- Donald's All-America honors as a high school senior, has lofty goals for her Wolfpack career. Date Opponent Location Time./TV Nov. 2 Catawba (Exh.) Reynolds Coliseum 7 p.m. Nov. 7 Charlotte Reynolds Coliseum 7 p.m./ACC Network Nov. 12 Connecticut Reynolds Coliseum 3 p.m./ABC Nov. 15 Elon Reynolds Coliseum 7 p.m./ACCNX Nov. 19 Rhode Island Reynolds Coliseum 2 p.m./ACCNX Nov. 23 Kentucky* St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 3:15 p.m./ESPN+ Nov. 24 Cincinnati* St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 3:15 p.m./ESPN+ Nov. 25 Colorado* St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 1 p.m./ESPN+ Nov. 29 Vanderbilt** Reynolds Coliseum 7:15 p.m./ACC Network Dec. 3 Illinois State Reynolds Coliseum 2 p.m./ACCNX Dec. 10 Liberty Reynolds Coliseum 2 p.m./ACCNX Dec. 16 USF Tampa, Fla. 7 p.m./ESPN+ Dec. 20 Old Dominion Norfolk, Va. 6:30 p.m. Dec. 31 Virginia Charlottesville, Va. 6 p.m./ACC Network Jan. 4 Florida State Reynolds Coliseum 7 p.m./ACCNX Jan. 7 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Va. Noon/ACC Network Date Opponent Location Time./TV Jan. 11 Virginia Reynolds Coliseum 7 p.m./ACCNX Jan. 18 Miami Coral Gables, Fla. 6 p.m./ACCNX Jan. 21 Duke Reynolds Coliseum Noon/ACC Network Jan. 25 Clemson Clemson, S.C. 7 p.m./ACCNX Jan. 28 Boston College Chestnut Hill, Mass. 2 p.m./ACCNX Feb. 1 North Carolina Reynolds Coliseum 8 p.m./ACC Network Feb. 5 Louisville Reynolds Coliseum 6 p.m./ESPN2 Feb. 8 Virginia Tech Reynolds Coliseum 8 p.m./ACC Network Feb. 11 Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pa. Noon/ACCNX Feb. 15 Notre Dame South Bend, Ind. 6 p.m./ACC Network Feb. 18 Georgia Tech Reynolds Coliseum Noon/The CW Feb. 22 North Carolina Chapel Hill, N.C. 8 p.m./ACC Network Feb. 25 Duke Durham, N.C. 5:30 p.m./ACC Network Feb. 29 Syracuse Reynolds Coliseum 7 p.m./ACCNX Mar. 3 Wake Forest Reynolds Coliseum 2 p.m./ACCNX * Paradise Jam; ** ACC/SEC Challenge NC State Women's Basketball Schedule Wes Moore has gone 242-80 in 10 seasons at NC State while guiding the Pack to seven NCAA Tournament appearances. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS