Wolfpack Women Have Their Mojo Back for Postseason
It's fashionable to say that once the postseason arrives, everyone starts over again at 0-0.
That's true in one respect.
At the same time, though, there's something to be said about the momentum with which a team enters that new season.
Both positive and negative.
For the NC State women's basketball team, the final two games of the regular season had no affect on the ACC regular season race or the conference's postseason tournament seedings.
But wins against Syracuse on Senior Night and at Virginia last Sunday were hugely important repairing the Wolfpack's waning confidence as it prepares to enter the month that will ultimately define its 2019-20 season.
Although the ACC women's tournament begins on Wednesday in Greensboro, second-seeded State won't play its first game until Friday at 6 p.m. against the survivor among the trio of No. 10 Notre Dame, No. 15 Pittsburgh and No. 7 Georgia Tech.
"I think we went through a little stretch there where we struggled," Moore said at a media availability Tuesday. "The last couple of games we played better, got a little momentum. I feel good about where we are right now.
"I think that was big for our psyche. Hit some shots and get some wins and get a little momentum going heading into the tournament was huge."
Moore's Wolfpack started the season by winning 21 of its first 22 games and rising as high as No. 4 in the national polls before suddenly and dramatically losing its shooting touch.
Although its overall shooting percentage during a four-game stretch that included home losses to Louisville in a top-10 showdown, Georgia Tech and Duke was 42.7 -- only a point or two away from its season average -- State's downfall was its inability to convert from beyond the 3-point line.
The Wolfpack was just 18 of 76 from long range (23.7%), a cold snap that made it much easier for opposing defenses to pack in and stop All-ACC center Elissa Cunane.
"These last couple of weeks, our shooters have been in a little bit of a slump which allows them to do that even more.," said Cunane, a 6-foot-5 sophomore who is the only ACC player this season to average a double-double. "They’re definitely trying to double me a little bit more and just be physical."
That's a successful strategy when shots aren't falling from the perimeter. But as junior forward Kayla Jones said, it can leave teams vulnerable when the Wolfpack is playing up to its potential.
"If they’re doubling Elissa, we have shooters on the wings," Jones said. "They’re going to pick their poison. Like coach says, either you’re going to double Elissa or leave the shooters out open. That’s what happened at Virginia. You’ve got to pick one."
Yes, Virginia.
Recognizing that State had been shooting poorly, the Cavaliers chose to concentrate on keeping the ball away from Cunane inside. It's a strategy that backfired to epic proportions as the Wolfpack set an NCAA record by making its first 13 three-point attempts on the way to a 75-64 regular season-ending win in Charlottesville.
Moore joked Tuesday that it was his work on three-point shooting that helped get his team straightened out. But it was more likely the public tongue-lashing he gave his upperclassmen after a Play4Kay Night loss to Duke on Feb. 24 that had a greater impact on State's return to form.
Those upperclassmen -- seniors Aislinn Koenig, Grace Hunter and Erika Cassell -- all scored in double figures to lead a slump-busting 69-60 win against Syracuse on Senior Night.
More importantly, their senior leadership and the urgency that usually comes with it this time of year, appears to have rubbed off on younger teammates such as ACC All-Freshman team members Jakia Brown-Turner and Jada Boyd.
"For me, I feel like my role as a leader is leveling out the team a little bit,'" said Konig, a second-team All-ACC selection and one of the most prolific three-point shooters in school history. "Making sure they understand that ‘yes, this is a big game, but there is another possession. We don’t need to get too caught up in the moment and focus on the end goal.’”
While that end goal is to get another shot at Louisville and win the ACC tournament championship, something State hasn't done since 1991, there's an even bigger prize looming beyond that.
The Wolfpack (25-4, 14-4) would dearly love to advance past the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament after falling short because of a rash of injuries last season. It's an objective that seems more realistic now than it did just a week ago.
"We’re just really excited to have the opportunity," Konig said. "I think we have a lot of potential here on this team to continue to grow and continue to play well. I think it is just super exciting having all of these things come together right before we head into the postseason."
(Video contributed by Jacob Turner)
