What to Expect for Wolfpack Women's Basketball in January's First Week
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RALEIGH — Unlike the men's program, NC State women's basketball already got ACC conference play underway, winning dominantly twice over Miami on the road and Georgia Tech in front of the Reynolds Coliseum crowd. The week before the team separated for a holiday break felt like a shift in the momentum of the season.
Now back on campus, the Wolfpack is set for a two-game slate to open the new year, hoping that the momentum from before Christmas carries over into the first week of January. Head coach Wes Moore and his squad will get a taste of the ACC schools from California, as they are both making the trip east to face the Wolfpack.
Looking at the two matchups for NC State women's basketball
The Wolfpack's week starts with one of the more historically strong programs in the country, as Stanford arrives in Raleigh for a bout against Moore and Co. on New Year's Day. The Cardinal comes into the game with just two losses, one coming against Tennessee, a team NC State beat in the season opener in Greensboro back in early November.
Stanford is led by 6-foot-2 junior forward Nunu Agara, who averaged 14.9 points and 8.7 rebounds through the first 14 games of the season. The veteran forward will be a good matchup for NC State's star in that position, Khamil Pierre, who is off to a blistering start both rebounding and scoring the basketball. Stanford averaged 72.9 points per game as a team, just behind NC State's 76.7 average.
After trying to dispatch a plucky Stanford team, which, like the Wolfpack, has an ugly loss against a mid-major program, NC State welcomes California to Raleigh for a matchup on Sunday at Reynolds Coliseum. One interesting aspect of the week is that NC State doesn't begin its spring session until Jan. 12, meaning many students won't be back on campus for either game, as well as the men's games.
While the smaller Reynolds Coliseum always boasts a large crowd of non-student fans, the Wolfpack won't have the usual support from arguably the most important and rowdiest part of the fan base. As for the Golden Bears, they are off to a 9-5 start, already with a loss to Stanford in conference play before the holidays. Cal is set to visit No. 16 North Carolina before facing the Wolfpack.
The Golden Bears don't pose the same offensive threat as Stanford, averaging less than 70 points per game. They are led by junior guard Lulu Twidale, who averaged 13.9 points and 2.9 assists through the first 14 games of the season. Another two wins for the Wolfpack would go a long way in building on the momentum from before Christmas and beginning a dominant run through the ACC.
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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