The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1519757
40 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Wolfpack Women Return A Strong Nucleus For Next Season BY ETHAN MCDOWELL The NC State women's basketball team wrapped up its 2023-24 season in the Fi- nal Four, building momentum heading into an offseason in which most of the Wolfpack's roster is set to return for an- other year and the squad is listed No. 8 in ESPN's Way Too Early Top 25. The Wolfpack will have to replace cen- ter River Baldwin and forward Mimi Col- lins, both of whom have exhausted their eligibility. Here's a full breakdown of the Pack's roster moving forward and what role each player could fill for the 2024-25 squad. Note: All college class years reflect the players' standing for next season. CORE PLAYERS • Senior guard Saniya Rivers • Senior guard Aziaha James • Sophomore guard Zoe Brooks • Graduate guard Madison Hayes NC State's backcourt is pretty much set. Hayes' decision to return for her ex- tra season of eligibility solidified a strong perimeter corps. The team could start all four of them, with Hayes playing the same small ball power forward role that she filled throughout this past season. Or, NC State could bring a starting-caliber guard off the bench for the second season in a row. James returns for her fourth year af- ter an impressive end to her junior sea- son. She averaged more than 20 points per game during the NCAA Tournament, finishing the season as the Pack's leading scorer at 16.8 points per game. Thanks to her elite postseason play, James has established herself as one of the top guards in the country. She has All-America potential after improving her playmaking and three-point shoot- ing during her third season with the Pack. Rivers also has a chance to be one of the nation's top guards. She held down the point guard role for the Pack and led the team with 3.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game, while also ranking second in scoring with a 12.5-point average. Rivers' defense is elite, and if her jump shot takes another step forward, she will be nearly impossible to guard. She knocked down 26 percent of her threes as a junior, including some key triples in the postseason. Brooks proved during her freshman season that no moment was too big for her. She played a huge role for the Wolf- pack coming off the bench, contribut- ing 26.4 minutes per game and finishing the year with averages of 9.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Her defense also improved significantly. With two open spots in the starting lineup, do not be surprised to see the Wolfpack run a four-guard starting five with Brooks at point guard. Hayes was arguably the team's top rebounder, finishing just 0.1 boards per game behind Baldwin for the team lead as a 6-foot guard. She is the glue of the Wolfpack team and defends at a high level. This past season, she knocked down 40.3 percent of her threes and put up 10.2 points per game. She will bring versatil- ity and clutch shot-making to next year's team. ROLE PLAYERS • Sophomore forward Maddie Cox • Sophomore center Mallory Collier • Sophomore guard Laci Steele All three of these former top-100 re- cruits played minor roles during their first 4-1 NC State's record against top-five op- ponents this season. Those four wins — against No. 2 Connecticut (92-81, Nov. 12), No. 3 Colorado (78-60, Nov. 25), No. 5 Stanford (77-67, March 29) and No. 4 Texas (76-66, March 31) — set a program record. The Pack's only top-five loss was to No. 1 South Carolina, 78-59, at the Final Four on April 5. 7 Teams in NCAA Division I history that ad- vanced to the Final Four after starting out the season unranked. NC State didn't enter the AP poll until Week 2, debuting at No. 14 following victories over Charlotte and No. 2 Connecticut to open its campaign. 9 Victories by NC State this season over oppo- nents ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. That total tied a program record. 14 Consecutive victories to open the season, a run that included wins over No. 2 Connecti- cut, No. 3 Colorado and No. 22 Florida State. 25 AZIAHA JAMES' second-half point total in NC State's 77-67 victory over Stanford in the Sweet 16. The junior guard knocked down 8 of 14 shots for the game and was nearly unstoppable after the Cardinal held her to 4 points in the first half. 26 Years since NC State's previous Final Four appearance. The Wolfpack last reached col- lege basketball's main event in 1998 when legendary coach Kay Yow led her team to the national semifi- nals. This year's tournament run also marked coach Wes Moore's first career appearance in the Final Four. "Aziaha is always Aziaha. You truly get to see that nobody can guard her on all levels. It's like watching your favorite movie that you just get to see over and over and over again." — Graduate forward Mimi Collins on junior guard AZIAHA JAMES' 22-point, 7-rebound performance against Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA Tournament PHOTO BY ANDREW YATES/NC STATE ATHLETICS NUMBERS AND QUOTES