North Carolina State University Athletics
Depth and Experience a Key to National Title Run
10/18/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Oct. 18, 2001
Raleigh, N.C. - The NC State women's basketball team comes into the 2001-02 season primed to take a run at the national title. Looking to build on last seasons 22-11 record and Sweet Sixteen appearance, this years team returns depth and experience, and also gets two of its key players back from injuries in Terah James and Kaayla Chones.
This year's team is already getting high praise from several basketball rankings. Women's Basketball News Service has NC State ranked sixth preseason, while two other polls have the team ranked eighth and 10th. Junior forward Carisse Moody has been selected preseason All-American by Lindy's, and Street & Smith honored Kaayla Chones as a preseason honorable mention All-American for the second consecutive year.
This year's team boasts a variety of players who are versatile and can play multiple positions. With Terah and Kaayla returning from injuries, and a talented freshman class, this will again be another great Kay Yow Team. Having practice starting during fall break allowed the team to get in more practices than in a usual week. "We were able to go twice a day until classes started again on Wednesday, which helped give us a boost," said Head Coach Kay Yow. "It was good for us because having Kaayla and Terah back who were out all season last year allowed them to begin playing with the team again, not just in individual workouts."
The team held its annual Media Day and an open practice in storied Reynolds Coliseum on Thursday afternoon. It was obvious that both players and the head coach are excited about the upcoming season. Junior forward Carisse Moody: "The team is very excited about the possibility of having such a special season. It's nice to be ranked so high preseason, but we would rather be ranked high at the end of the season, preferably number one."
