NC State women's basketball is 'a team in transition'
NC State head coach Wes Moore talked about this team with caution in the preseason. He explained that, while last year’s team was ranked too low initially, this year’s iteration of the Wolfpack probably sits too high at No. 9 in the Associated Press Poll.
After kicking off the season with a 25-point win over East Tennessee State, NC State played its first true test of the season Sunday afternoon in Charlotte against No. 1 South Carolina.
These two programs met last year and, just like the Final Four, NC State went on runs and kept in lockstep with the Gamecocks at times despite a 71-57 final result.
But the Pack had to rely on a small-ball lineup as its young post players struggled at times. South Carolina had the skill along its forward line to take advantage of that, winning the rebounding battle by 15.
“I’ll be honest, we’re a team in transition right now,” Moore said. “We’re still trying to figure a lot of things out.”
The Wolfpack trailed by three points after the first quarter despite turning the ball over 9 times, finishing the game with 21 giveaways. In contrast, NC State recorded 9 total assists against the Gamecocks.
In senior guard Aziaha James’ opinion, there’s “no way” the Pack should have struggled with ball security that much. She turned the ball over 4 times and scored 13 points on 4 of 9 shooting.
“We know we’re a whole new team … nobody cares about what we did last year, so we’ve got to fix ourselves,” James said after the game.
When the Pack went small and ran some five-out offense, Moore was encouraged by the results. NC State jumped out to a four-point lead in the second quarter while taking that approach thanks to an 11-0 run spurred by 7 of James’ points.
The Wolfpack did not keep up the same movement necessary to get open looks against this smart and athletic South Carolina defense. Instead, the guards tried to take the Gamecocks off the dribble and win with isolation buckets.
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NC State shot 42 percent against the Gamecocks, and no one other than freshman guard Zamareya Jones hit more than 1 three-pointer.
“As a coach, I’ve got to look in the mirror too because, on offense, we were standing around just going one on one, and I’ve got to make sure that we have something a little more fluid and better movement,” Moore said.
South Carolina scored 22 points off 21 Wolfpack turnovers. The Gamecocks secured 11 offensive rebounds while NC State grabbed 3 and scored 20 points in the paint Sunday afternoon.
As this team continues to find its post-Final Four identity, James said the squad needs to lock in on the finer details of the game like boxing out and keeping track of backdoor cuts. Effort is a big part of that, she said.
“We have to do the little things to make a big difference,” James said.
Moore does not have the answer yet, he explained postgame. The head coach is still working to find the best formula for this year’s Wolfpack. Last year, he said it was easy.
This year, he’s coaching a less experienced group with a variety of lineup combinations to try out. NC State played all 12 healthy scholarship players Sunday.
“Do we go small and quicker?” Wes Moore said. “Do we go big? Do we play four out, one in, which is what I’ve traditionally played? Or do we try to get five guards out there and play five out. I’m searching, and I’ve got to find out in a hurry.”
