The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/406183
94 ■ THE WOLFPACKER WOLFPACK BASKETBALL PREVIEW BY BRIAN RAPP F orgive Nikki West if she feels like a kid who got her favorite gift for Christmas — but got to play with it for just one year. NC State's associate head women's bas- ketball coach is not only head coach Wes Moore's right hand — she's also the assis- tant in charge of overseeing the Wolfpack's forwards and centers. Last season, as one of Moore's staff making the transition from Chattanooga to NC State, West inherited a group that featured a proven senior forward in Kody Burke and a 6-5 junior college trans- fer in the post that had been somewhat of a disappointment in her first year in Raleigh. "Last year at this time, we didn't know what to expect," West said a week into prac- tice in October. "We knew [senior post] Markeisha [Gatling] had the potential to be a dominating player, and we saw flashes of that in practice — but we had to figure out how to get that from her consistently." Midway through the non-conference por- tion of last year's schedule — in the Pack's 89-79 win over then-No. 12 LSU — the spark ignited, and Gatling went on to com- plete a season for the record books, as the most accurate shooter in NCAA Division I (making 232 of 350 attempts for a single- season school-record 66.3-percent accuracy), earning first-team All-ACC honors, selection as the 2013-14 team's Most Valuable Player — and becoming the highest drafted Pack player by the WNBA since 1997 with her first-round selection (10th pick overall) by the Chicago Sky. While Gatling was the focal point of NC State's "four-out" offense last season, she had ample help inside from Burke, who completed her four-year career in Raleigh with her best season from three-point range (32.8-percent) en route to second-team All-ACC honors and becoming a third-round WNBA Draft pick by the Washington Mystics. Behind that duo, West also had the com- fort of proven backup Lakeesa Daniel, who was also having her best season last winter with career highs in points (77), average points per game (4.1), and field goal (51.2 percent) and free throw (52.9 percent) shoot- ing before her final campaign was cut short by a knee injury in late February. That was a year ago. Now, West begins the 2014-15 season without that trio that ac- counted for 44 percent of NC State's scoring and 30 percent of its rebounds last season. Returning to head the Pack's battle on the boards is one veteran inside player: 6-1 sophomore forward Jennifer Mathurin, who saw action in 30 of the team's 33 games last year, but averaged only 2.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in 9.3 minutes per game. "I honestly can't remember a time when A "YOUNG BUT FUN" Situation The Pack's Continued Success Will Be Determined By Its Inside Play Sophomore forward Jennifer Mathurin saw action in 30 of the Wolfpack's 33 games last year, averaging 9.3 minutes, 2.3 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN