The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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92 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Three Key Games 1. Indiana, Dec. 1: NC State's opponent for the 10th annual ACC-Big Ten Challenge is 0-3 all time against the Pack but coming off a 21-12 season a year ago and an NCAA Tournament berth. Indiana is ranked in the top 25 in two preseason polls after returning all five starters and eight members of their nine-player rotation. The Hoosiers haven't faced NC State since a 93-91 defeat in Raleigh in 2003. The Pack is look- ing to snap a two-game losing streak in the annual interconference event and improve on its 3-6 overall mark. 2. Duke, Jan. 15: No doubt the Blue Devils, who lost an uncharacteristic 12 games last year, will be anxious to avenge one of those setbacks in particular: NC State's 65-62 upset of the then-No. 22 Devils last Jan. 14. It was the Pack's first win at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1996, and its second over Duke in as many meetings — also a first since the 1995-96 season. NC State will host Duke, knowing that Reynolds has not been an easy venue for the Devils. Prior to NC State's win there in 2015, Duke won its three previous clashes with the Pack in Raleigh by an average of just 4.7 points. 3. North Carolina, Feb. 23: NC State's Senior Night, when the Pack will say farewell to Miah Spencer, Dominique Wilson, Ashley Williams and Jennifer Mathurin, will come with the Tar Heels as the opponent. This is the first time since Feb. 16, 2007 that senior night will be against UNC. That could be a good omen for the Red and White — that was the night NC State upset the No. 2 Tar Heels 72-65 — the same night the basketball court was named to honor Kay Yow. Quick Facts The Key Names, Games And Numbers To Know About The 2016-17 Women's Team ■ By The Numbers 0 NC State players that were named to the preseason first-team All-ACC, despite having two second-team honorees (seniors Miah Spencer and Dominique Wil- son) last season. The Pack was chosen to finish seventh in the conference by the coaches' and media's preseason polls — the highest ranking of any ACC team without a preseason first-team selection. 19 Combined points NC State lost by in five losses to NCAA Tournament teams last season — Seton Hall, Florida, Louisville, Syracuse and Florida State. The aver- age margin of defeat was just 4.8 points, and they repre- sented five of the Pack's 11 losses in 2015-16. 37 Games needed for senior guard Miah Spencer to be- come NC State's all-time leader for games played. That would mean an extended, seven-game postseason run for Spencer, currently with 97 career appearances, to surpass Marissa Kastanek's program-leading 133. 59 Assists Spencer needs to reach 403 for her career, which would put her seventh on the school's all-time list. Although Spencer is expected to play primarily at the No. 2 guard spot this season, which could reduce her assist numbers, if she were to duplicate last year's 151-assist tally she would finish with 495 — moving her to No. 4 on the career list. Angie Armstrong (1980-83) is the Pack's current all-time assists leader with 608. 70 Points senior Dominique Wilson needs to become the 32nd player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points for the Wolfpack. Wilson already has 1,148 points for her collegiate career — but 218 came as a freshman at Arkansas in 2012-13. Stats To Watch 1. Opponents Three-Point Shooting Percentage: While NC State was one of the top three-point shooting teams in the ACC in 2015-16 — the Pack's average of 7.1 made treys per game was second only to national runner-up Syracuse's 8.9 per contest — it also was one of the worst in the conference defending the three. Opponents made 32.8 percent of shots from be - yond the arc, which ranked 12th in the conference in three-point defense. In ACC games, opponents shot 34.6 percent (97 of 280) from long range. Only Clemson was worse in conference-games only stats. 2. Rebounding: It's a familiar refrain because it's one of head coach Wes Moore's yearly top team priorities. The Pack did improve its work on the boards from the 2014-15 season, when it finished with an average of 36.6 rebounds per game, fourth worst in the conference. Six players tallied more than 100 boards last year to help raise the Pack's average to 39.4 caroms a contest while allowing opponents 36.8 — a plus-2.5 advantage that ranked seventh in the conference. The coaching staff is hoping that the experience of four returning senior starters — the most in Moore's four years at the helm — and the matura - tion of junior forward Chelsea Nelson, the team's second-leading rebounder (5.0 per game) last sea- son, will help the Pack approach the plus-3.9 margin it held during its 25-win, NCAA Tournament-qualifying season of 2013-14. 3. Turnovers: At first glance, this might not seem a critical stat, since the Pack finished last season in the top three in the conference in turnover margin, forcing an average of 17.1 giveaways in ACC games while committing just 13.8 a game for a plus-3.3 margin. Those numbers represented a huge turnaround from the Wolfpack's 13 pre-ACC contests, when NC State committed 236 turnovers while forcing 230. Lowering the turnover average to under double figures, while maintaining a 10-plus takeaway per game average, will be one of the priorities for the Pack, along with improved rebounding. Returning Leaders Points: 5th-Sr. G Dominique Wilson (473, 15.3 per game) Rebounds: Sr. F Jennifer Mathurin (215, 6.9 per game) Assists: Sr. G Miah Spencer (151, 4.9 per game) Blocks: So. F DD Rogers (15, 0.5 per game) Steals: Wilson (49, 1.6 per game) Three-pointers made: Mathurin (55, 1.8 per game) FG percentage: Rogers (.559; 38-68) FT percentage: Wilson (.838; 114-136) Minutes: Spencer (1,072, 34.6 per game) BASKETBALL PREVIEW 2016-17 Dominique Wilson, a fifth-year senior and former transfer from Arkansas, led NC State in scoring, steals and free throw percentage last year. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN BY BRIAN RAPP