NC State women's basketball scouting report: Princeton
NC State is back in the NCAA Tournament and ready for its round of 64 matchup against No. 10-seeded Princeton. The No. 7-seeded Pack will face the Tigers at 10 p.m. EST in Salt Lake City, Utah.
After wrapping up the conference tournament with a 20-11 overall record and a 9-9 mark in conference play, the Wolfpack comes into Friday’s matchup with its lowest tournament seed since 2017. Over the past four tournaments, the Wolfpack has advanced to at least the sweet 16 and most recently reached the elite 8 in 2022.
The Tigers are coming off of an Ivy League championship win over Harvard and enter the tournament 23-5 with a 12-2 record in conference play.
Three Princeton players to watch
Kaitlyn Chen
Kaitlyn Chen is the 2023 Ivy League Player of the Year and an all-around star for the Tigers. She has scored at least 18 points in her past 6 games and averages 15.9 points per game this year. As a junior, the All-Ivy League first-team honoree also averages 3.9 rebounds and assists per game. Chen does not shoot or make many threes but does hit 48.9 percent of her shots overall as a 5-9 guard.
Ellie Mitchell
Ellie Mitchell just wrapped up her second-consecutive Ivy League defensive player of the year award. The 6-1 forward grabs 4.1 offensive rebounds per game to pace the conference and pulls down 11 boards per game overall. She has secured 309 total rebounds this year. No one in the Ivy League is within 50 of that mark. Even though Mitchell averages just 5.8 points per game, she makes a huge impact on the game in other ways, recording 2.4 steals per game as well.
Grace Stone
Princeton is an average three-point shooting team overall, making 31.5 percent of its shots from deep, and Grace Stone is the main athlete to watch on the perimeter. She leads the team with 111 attempts from three and converts them at a 38.9 percent clip. The 5-11 senior made the All-Ivy League second team and ranks third on the Tigers with 9.5 points per game.
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Princeton has not lost since Jan. 6
Princeton takes a 15-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament. After dropping an overtime matchup to Columbia Jan. 6, the Tigers stood 0-2 in conference play. They did not lose an Ivy League game for the rest of the year. During non-conference play, the Tigers notably lost to Texas by 24 points and played UConn extremely close, losing by 5.
The Tigers’ defense will be tough to beat
The Tigers can score when needed, putting up 79 points or more several times in conference play, but the team’s defense has been excellent all year. Allowing just 52.5 points per game, Princeton ranks No. 1 in the Ivy League. Led by Mitchell, it will be difficult to put up points in bunches against this squad.
One prediction: NC State 60, Princeton 52
NC State has plenty of experience going up against stout defensive opponents. Duke, Louisville and UNC both thrive on that end of the court, and the Pack had mixed results against those squads. The Wolfpack’s success in the tournament will likely hinge on whether or not Diamond Johnson is able to play.
Regardless of the All-ACC guard’s status, TheWolfpacker.com believes the defense of Saniya Rivers and Madison Hayes will be able to slow down Chen enough to advance to the round of 32. Keeping Mitchell off of the boards will also be a key factor as the Pack hopes to advance to a likely matchup against No. 2-seeded Utah.
