Third-Seeded Wolfpack Opens NCAA Tournament at Home Saturday

March 21, 2019

TICKETS | GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | WATCH LIVE | BRACKET

RALEIGH – The 10th-ranked and third-seeded NC State women's basketball team (26-5) begins its 2019 NCAA Tournament journey on Saturday afternoon when it hosts 14th-seeded Maine (25-7) in Raleigh. Tip-off between the Wolfpack and Black Bears is scheduled for 1 pm on Kay Yow Court inside Valvano Arena at Reynolds Coliseum. The game will be shown live on ESPN2/WatchESPN.

SATURDAY PROMOTIONS
-Free admission for the first 200 NC State students. Wolfpack students are instructed to enter through the main (North) entrance and bring a valid student ID for free admission. After 200 free tickets are given away, student tickets can be purchased at a discount price of $8.

SATURDAY SCHEDULE
Sixth-seeded Kentucky vs. 11th-seeded Princeton at 11:00 am.
Third-seeded NC State vs. 14th-seeded Maine at 1:00 pm (or 30 minutes after conclusion of first game).

A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD...
-Be the 915th win in program history (914-466).
-Be head coach Wes Moore's 697th win (696-226).
-Be Moore's 139th win at NC State (138-57).
-Be NC State's 23rd NCAA Tournament win (22-24).
-Mark NC State's third straight season winning at least one game in the NCAA Tournament.
-Mark NC State's first 27-win season since 1990-91.

NOTING THE WOLFPACK (26-5. RPI: 9. SOS: 14.)
-2nd nationally in fewest fouls committed per game (12.5).
-14th in rebound margin (+8.8).
-22nd in FG percentage defense (.361).
-33rd in FG percentage (.446).
-Aislinn Konig ranks 31st in 3FG percentage (.408).

THE WOLFPACK IS BEST WHEN...
Its opponent shoots lower than 40 percent....................22-1
Leading at the half............................................................19-1
Winning fast break points.................................................17-1
It outscores opponents in the paint..................................25-2
It outrebounds the opposition...........................................22-2
Shooting between 40-50 percent......................................18-2
Its bench outscores the opponent bench.........................19-3
It commits 15 or fewer turnovers......................................18-3
Making five or more 3-pointers.........................................22-5

SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS (25-7. RPI: 54. SOS: 145.)
-Back-to-back America East Tournament champions. Defeated three foes by an average of 22.6 points per game this season in the competition.
-Best RPI (38) win of the season was an 85-73 victory at UNC-Chapel Hill on Dec. 2.
-2nd nationally in fewest turnovers per game (11.2).
-6th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.45).
-33rd in scoring defense (57.3).
-35th in 3FG made per game (8.2).
-Praise Rossignol ranks 27th in 3FG percentage (.412).

SERIES HISTORY (NC State leads 4-0)
-NC State is 2-0 against the Black Bears in Raleigh.
-In the last meeting between the teams, NC State defeated Maine 84-46 in Raleigh on Dec. 15, 2018.
-NC State and Maine have once before met in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Raleigh on March 13, 1998. NC State won 89-64 and advanced to the Final Four that season.

NC STATE'S ACC AWARDS
-Kiara Leslie: First Team All-ACC (Coaches/BRP).
-Kiara Leslie: All-Defensive Team.
-Kiara Leslie: All-ACC Academic Team.
-Elissa Cunane: All-Freshman Team (Coaches/BRP).
-Elissa Cunane: All-ACC Academic Team.
-Elissa Cunane: First Team All-ACC Tournament.
-DD Rogers: All-ACC Academic Team.
-Aislinn Konig: All-ACC Academic Team.

Leslie is the fourth Wolfpack player to earn First Team All-ACC honors in the last three seasons. Cunane is the first Wolfpack player to earn All-Freshman Team honors since Marissa Kastanek in 2010. NC State's three honorees on the All-ACC Academic Team ranked tied for second in the league this season and marked the highest single-season total for the Wolfpack since 2011.

NC STATE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT (22-24)
-25th appearance.
-One Final Four (1998).
-12 Sweet 16s (1982, 84, 85, 87, 89, 90, 91, 95, 98, 2001, 07, 18).
-The Wolfpack is 14-2 in NCAA Tournament games in Raleigh.

REGULARLY EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
NC State has met or exceeded ACC coaches' preseason expectations in all six of Wes Moore's seasons.

2013-14: Predicted 10th … Finished 4th
2014-15: Predicted 9th … Finished T9th
2015-16: Predicted 9th… Finished T6th
2016-17: Predicted 7th … Finished T4th
2017-18: Predicted 10th … Finished T4th
2018-19: Predicted 4th … Finished 3rd

NAISMITH COACH OF THE YEAR FINALIST
On March 21, NC State head coach Wes Moore was named one of four finalists for the 2019 Naismith Coach of the Year Award. This is the first time Moore has been a finalist for the award, but he was also a semifinalist (top 10) in 2017.

NC STATE'S SEASONS WITH 12 ACC WINS
2 seasons (of a possible 6) under head coach Wes Moore.
5 seasons (of a possible 32) from 1977-2013.

SUCCESS IN THE CONFERENCE
63-33 (.656): NC State's ACC record under Moore.
307-207 (.597): NC State's ACC record from 1977-2013.

BEST YEAR YET
Senior DD Rogers is making the absolute most of her final season with the Wolfpack. From her junior to senior seasons, her minutes per game (11.6 to 25.8), rebounds per game (3.2 to 7.8), and points per game (2.2 to 6.5) have seen huge increases.

RECORD SINCE THE RENOVATION
Since the Wolfpack's 2016-17 return to Reynolds Coliseum following the completion of the $35 million renovation, the team is 45-6 on its home court.

QUITE A STREAK
NC State has won 27 consecutive non-conference games played at home. The Wolfpack's last loss in Raleigh to a non-ACC team came on Dec. 13, 2015.

#GoPack | @PackWomensBball

Third-Seeded Wolfpack Opens NCAA Tournament at Home Saturday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Elissa Cunane

Aislinn Konig

Kiara Leslie

DD Rogers