The Wolfpacker

Nov.-Dec. 2020

The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports

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36 ■ THE WOLFPACKER 2020-2021 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PREVIEW BY JUSTIN H. WILLIAMS When NC State hired Wes Moore as its head women's basketball coach on April 5, 2013, he was already familiar with the rich history of the Wolfpack program. In fact, he had already been a small part of it. As a young up-and-comer in his mid- thirties, Moore spent two seasons, from 1993-95, as an assistant under legendary Pack head coach Kay Yow. NCSU went 34-24 during that stretch and finished his second year with the program ranked No. 24 in the Associated Press (AP) poll after reaching the Sweet Sixteen of the 1995 NCAA Tournament. Three seasons prior to Moore's initial arrival as an assistant, the Wolfpack won its fourth ACC Tournament championship in program history, in 1991. It reached the Sweet Sixteen three more times under Yow after Moore left in 1995 to become the head coach of Division II Francis Marion. But the program was unable to reach those heights again until Moore returned to lead the Pack. When he took NC State to the Sweet Sixteen in 2018, it marked the first time the Pack went that far in the NCAA Tournament in 11 years, since Yow's final game in the Big Dance in 2007. The Wolfpack returned to the Sweet Six- teen in 2019 for a second straight season and likely would have done so three times in a row had the tournament not been canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. NC State ended its 2020 season with a 71-66 victory over Florida State at the Greensboro Coliseum for the ACC Tourna- ment championship. It was the fifth confer- ence tournament title in program history, and the first since 1991 under Yow. After ending a 29-year ACC champion- ship drought this spring, Moore has returned the Wolfpack to the national prominence it enjoyed during Yow's 34-season tenure in Raleigh. CHAMPIONS CHAMPIONS AGAIN AGAIN NC State Head Coach Wes Moore Has Wolfpack Women's Basketball Back In The National Spotlight Moore led the Wolfpack to its first ACC Tournament championship in 29 years in 2020. PHOTO BY CHRIS BAIRD

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