The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/846301
JULY 2017 ■ 143 BY BRIAN RAPP T he 43-year history of women's bas- ketball at NC State has produced 32 individuals who have scored 1,000 or more points in their careers. The two most recent additions to that ex- clusive club — Peach State products Miah Spencer and Dominique Wilson — did so while forming arguably the best guard tan- dem in program history. Spencer and Wilson were part of a se- nior class that produced 86 victories from 2014-17 — the most since the 1989-92 group. Between them, they scored 2,960 points, started every game each of the last two years and earned first-team All-ACC honors as seniors to become the first guard tandem in Pack history to achieve that feat in the same season. In addition, along with fellow seniors guard Ashley Williams and forward Jenn Mathurin, they provided NC State with the most potent outside shoot- ing attack (240 made three-pointers at a 33.1-percent clip) of head coach Wes Moore's four years in Raleigh. "They definitely complemented each other well — they checked all the boxes," Moore said. "Miah gave us great leader- ship at the point position — and seemed to, when you really needed a bucket, she could go get one. Dom was obviously a great shooter, but we also asked a lot of her on the defensive end as well. "So again, I think the combination of the two worked really well." That effectiveness, critical to NC State's three 20-win seasons in the last four years and this year's NCAA Tournament berth, is why Spencer and Wilson are the 2016- 17 co-winners of the Female Athlete of the Year award, as chosen by The Wolfpacker staff. And typical of the attitude that helped them earn the award, both said they had no qualms about splitting it — especially with a teammate. "We both had a great year," Spencer pointed out, "so I'm pretty sure if I hadn't gotten it, Dom would have. We were team- mates, so [both winning] just shows how good the women's basketball program is." "I didn't know you could share an award like that," Wilson added, "but me and Miah worked hard this year, and basketball is a team sport, not an individual sport. So, it's only right that we share it because we worked together." Ironically, neither player was recruited by Moore for the Wolfpack. Spencer, a two-time Georgia state champion at Co- lumbia High School outside of Atlanta, was a member of the last class to be recruited by former Pack head coach Kellie Harper — though Moore had tried to lure Spencer to Chattanooga his last year there. After Harper was fired in March 2013, Spencer admitted she had some second thoughts about coming to Raleigh — until a phone call from Moore. "I thought he was trying to get me to come to Chattanooga again," she recalled. "Then he told me he'd just become the new coach at NC State." "I told Miah I was just waiting to see where she'd end up, and that was the coaching job I was going to try to get," Moore joked. Wilson had been a prime target of Pack assistant coach Gene Hill in 2011 and 2012, during a standout career at Georgia's McEachern High School, on the opposite side of Atlanta from Spencer's prep school. At the time, Hill was still an assistant at Georgia Tech — but Wilson opted to play for Arkansas instead. However, after one year with the Razor- backs, Wilson was looking for a chance to play closer to home — and Hill was now Moore's assistant in Raleigh. That fortu- nate alignment of circumstances brought Wilson to NC State for what would prove to be a spectacular combination of talent with her future backcourt mate. Beside their shared Atlanta roots and di- verse paths to wearing a Wolfpack uniform, Spencer and Wilson also shared some ironic twists to their careers in Raleigh. Both changed positions from what they played in high school. Spencer, a shooting guard during her career at Decatur High, became a starter 28 games into her fresh- man season when senior Myisha Goodwin- Coleman suffered a career-ending knee injury. After playing her sophomore year at both guard positions, Spencer took over the point full-time following the graduation of Le'Nique Brown-Hoskins in 2015. "It wasn't hard to make the switch," she said. "I thought it was effective because I could score and was quick enough to set my teammates up, get them good looks and open shots. We had Dom, Ashley and Jenn on the wings knocking down threes, so that made it easier for me because [op- ponents] had to choose their poison — are you gonna guard me one-on-one or help on a three-point shooter on the wing? "I feel Coach Moore moving me to the point was the best decision for the team, and it obviously worked out." In her final season in red and white, Spencer averaged 12.8 points, 4.8 re- bounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 48.4 percent from the field, 37.3 percent from three-point range and 80.0 from the free throw line. During her four-year career, Spencer never missed a single game and started 101 of 129 contests — sixth in program history. Her 1,585 points puts her 12th on the all-time scoring list, and her 496 assists is fourth all time. She is the only player in program history to score at least 1,500 points and dish out at least 400 assists, and her 428 made free throws is No. 1 in school annals. "We just worked hard," Spencer said when asked the key to her success with Wilson. "We're both very competitive, and we knew what it took to win. We've had lapses where we had questions about our game, so we both got in the gym and worked on it, became mature with our game and led our team. "It was great, it was fun — we did a lot of great things together and as a team, and I'm just so proud of that." Wilson also began her career at NC State as a prime reserve (after sitting out the 2013-14 season per NCAA transfer rules), but like Spencer moved into a starting role during the 2014-15 season when another career-ending injury sidelined senior Krys- tal Barrett. After finishing second to Spencer in scoring that season, Wilson led NC State her final two years, averaging 15.3 points Spencer (left) and Wilson capped their Wolf- pack careers by becoming the first guard tandem in school history to earn first-team All-ACC honors. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN DYNAMIC DUO Miah Spencer and Dominique Wilson Teamed Up To Give The Women's Basketball Squad A Potent Backcourt