The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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MARCH/APRIL 2024 ■ 31 T BY ETHAN MCDOWELL he NC State women's bas- ketball team finished its 2022-23 season on a low note. Then, the Wolfpack never looked back. After Princeton upset the Pack, 64-63, in the NCAA Tournament's first round, four start- ers left. In the offseason, the staff filled most of those vacancies with freshmen. Five players from the squad stuck around, and that group has the Wolf- pack contending for conference and na- tional championships once again. NC State was the first ACC school to reach 20 victories this season after starting the campaign with 14 consecu- tive wins, including two upsets of top- five opponents. As of mid-February, the Pack was projected by ESPN as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA To u r n a m e n t a n d had reached as high as No. 3 in the As- sociated Press poll. Ju n i o rs S a n iya Rivers and Aziaha James and senior Madison Hayes all returned to the backcourt this season after taking on increased responsibili- ties last year. In the frontcourt, forward Mimi Collins and center River Baldwin embraced roles in the starting lineup as graduate students. When healthy, that group of return- ing players starts the game together. They helped the team move past a dis- appointing year and leap back to the heights the program has become ac- customed to under veteran coach Wes Moore. "We all have the same goals," Hayes said. "I feel like it's definitely a player- led team. We all want the same things, we all want an ACC championship, we all want to go to the NCAA Tour- nament, we want to win a national championship. It's all there, and ev- erybody brings different things to the table." Each returning player was averag- ing a career high in points per game through the team's first 24 contests. All of the Wolfpack's starters, plus fresh- man point guard Zoe Brooks, were scoring at least 9.5 points per game. Brooks, a former five-star recruit from Plainfield, N.J., has been a fix- ture in the rotation, filling in for injured players in the starting lineup and of- ten taking the court as the first player off the bench. She ranked second on the team in both assists (89) and steals (35) heading into the Wolfpack's visit to Notre Dame on Feb. 15. James has been making her case as the ACC's most improved player, leading the Pack and ranking ninth in the con- ference with an average of 15.8 points per game. Baldwin and Hayes were leading the team in rebounding at 6.7 boards per game, while Collins (6.4) and Rivers (6.3) weren't far behind. Winning Chemistry NC State has stressed throughout the season how strong this squad's chemis- try is both on and off the court. It shows up before, during and after games. In warmups, the Wolfpack players dance, laugh and encourage each other. When they make a critical play, they are quick to run over and hype each other up. And after a win, NC State's stars deflect praise onto their teammates and compliment each other profusely. Hayes said she knew this team could be special when it played its annual se- cret scrimmage against Tennessee. She said the Pack lost that matchup, but the senior guard saw sky-high potential. The bonds that the players built during the offseason were a huge part of that growth. "I knew we were going to be good," Hayes said. "I feel like the chemistry off the court was extraordinary for us, especially after last year, and that was definitely a point of emphasis this year." James and Hayes are the only two players on this year's NC State team who were part of the Pack's 2022 run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. The Wolfpack lost considerable ex- perience from that group when Dia- mond Johnson, Ja- kia Brown-Turner, Jada Boyd and Ca- mille Hobby— four starters from last year's squad— all left the program. Hayes said this year's team brings a different, more explosive look to the court, while still maintaining one of the program's previous strengths that made the Elite Eight team so special — a new player can step up on any given night. A total of six members of the rotation have scored 20 or more points in a game. "We just have a lot more athleticism," Hayes said. "Everybody can run the floor." Heading into the final weeks of the regular season, the Wolfpack ranked among the ACC's top four in both scor- ing offense (fourth, 76.6 points per game) and scoring defense (second, 59.4). NC State was holding opponents to a league- low 34.9 percent shooting rate from the floor and was second in rebounding mar- gin at plus 7.92 per game. GROUP THINK Teamwork Propels NC State Women's Basketball Back Into The National Spotlight Averaging a team-high 33 minutes per game, guard Saniya Rivers has been a force on both ends of the court for NC State. The junior has contributed 12.3 points per outing while also ranking seventh in the ACC in assists (4.43 per game) and third in steals (2.5). PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS " I knew we were going to be good. I feel like the chemistry off the court was extraordinary for us, especially after last year, and that was definitely a point of emphasis this year. " Senior guard Madison Hayes