The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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56 ■ THE WOLFPACKER game, being down and fighting back to win," Brown-Hoskin added. "Winning the Kay Yow game [Hoops 4Hope], the first time in my career here, and against Duke, the first time I'd ever won against them. And Miami, which was a high and low for me — because I felt we were throwing in the towel the first half. At halftime I was mad, and I asked the team just to fight. We did, came back out and won [on Brown-Hoskin's three-pointer with time running out]." And although Barrett had to watch most of the Pack's late-season success from the bench, she had her own personal moment of glory to cherish as the cap to her ca- reer: playing the final minute against Notre Dame, in the regular-season finale March 1, and hitting her only shot of the game, a three-pointer from the right wing, in the final seconds — the last basket made by an NC State player in Reynolds Coliseum before its multi-million dollar makeover this coming year. "I knew I was going to get in, but I didn't know if I could make the shot," she said. "I just figured I'd shoot it wherever I caught the ball. It went in, and it was like a movie moment I'll always remember." With Brown-Hoskin and Barrett both graduating (Brown-Hoskin spent the past year as a graduate player) and hoping for a chance to play overseas (Barrett has been accepted to grad school at Washington State if her European playing plans fall through), and freshman guard Chloe Jackson electing to transfer to LSU, the Pack will have to re- plenish its perimeter roster next season. But 10 returning veterans, plus the largest incom- ing class in recent memory, will help solve one of Moore's major problems this season. "We were not as disciplined as we should have been and didn't execute and do the little things, pay attention to detail, as well as I would like to see our teams do," he said. "I think that goes back to a lack of competition because of the injuries. A bench can be a coach's best friend — you've got depth, so people have to be accountable. "There's a lot of things that I'm second guessing, because when you get as close as we did [to earning an NCAA berth], you look at the losses and think what you could have done differently. I compromised a little in that I wasn't as eager to go to the bench as I would have had we had a full roster. That caused players to slip, not pay attention to detail as much as they should have — and that falls on me. When we win, it's because the players make the plays and hit the shots — when we lose, it's because I should have done something different." Still, both the coach and his players be- lieve the adversity experienced this 2014-15 season will, in the long run, be a benefit. "I want to be remembered as someone who never gave up, who gave 100 percent every time I stepped on the court," said Brown-Hoskin, who was voted this sea- son's Most Outstanding Player. "I have no regrets." "Things didn't go as I wanted them to, but I grew as a person and a player," Barrett said. "Just being on the bench, encouraging my teammates, doing whatever I could to be a leader in that situation, I felt like my injury helped me grow in areas I didn't think I would. Turning a negative into a positive was my motivation." "I just want to keep the leadership that Nique and KB gave this year going," said Eli, the team's lone returning four-year vet- eran next season. "We also had a bunch of underclassmen step up this season [includ- ing Spencer, whose 14.0 points per game led the team, and Wilson, second at 13.8], and they'll continue to do that. We're excited about the future." "This was a year of growing pains," Moore concluded. "Every program has that one tough year. You hit some bumps in the road; you just have to stay focused and keep looking ahead. "I'm excited about the new blood coming in, and I'm confident about the core of veter- ans we have coming back. So this will be a great time to put our stamp on our values and what's important to us as a staff. Having been here with Coach Yow [as an assistant from 1993-95], I know what this program is capa- ble of. I also know the resources and support is there for us to do great things again. Now, we just have to go work and go do them. "Did we get caught short-handed this year? Would I bite the bullet and do it [save scholarships] again? Probably so — but now, hopefully, we can reap the benefits." ■ Senior guard Krystal Barrett suffered a torn ACL in December, one of three season-ending injuries the Wolfpack was forced to deal with this campaign. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS