Saturday, March 26
Bridgeport, Conn.
11:30 AM
NC State
vs
#21/21 Notre Dame
Wolfpack Faces Notre Dame Saturday in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
3/25/2022 8:09:00 AM | Women's Basketball
TICKETS | GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | ESPN
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – NC State women's hoops (31-3) makes its fourth-straight NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance on Saturday as it takes on ACC foe Notre Dame (24-8) in Bridgeport, Conn. The game is set for an 11:30 a.m. tip off from the Total Mortgage Arena, with the winner advancing to Monday's Elite 8 game.
The game will be televised nationally on ESPN with Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe and Andraya Cater on the call. Andrew Sanders and Ernie Myers will also have the radio call on WKNC 88.1 FM in Raleigh.
A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD
• Secure NC State's second Elite Eight berth in program history and its first since the 1998 NCAA Tournament
• Be the 998th win in program history (997-477)
• Be head coach Wes Moore's 780th career win (779-237)
• Be Moore's 222nd win at NC State (221-68)
• Be the Wolfpack's 29th NCAA Tournament win of all time (28-26)
• Extend NC State's winning streak to 13 games
• Mark the Pack's ninth over a nationally-ranked opponent this season, setting a new single-season program record
NOTING THE WOLFPACK (31-3)
• NC State was ranked No. 3 in the final Associated Press Top 25 release of the season to tie the program's best final AP ranking in history. The Wolfpack has been featured in the season-ending AP Top 10 four seasons in a row, extending its program-best streak. The team was ranked fifth or higher in every poll this season.
• The Pack's first-round win over Longwood marked its 30th overall victory of the season, setting a new single-season program record. NC State is the 63rd NCAA Division I women's basketball program to hit the 30-win plateau at least once in its history.
• NC State is three wins away from 1,000 in program history. The team's 997 all-time victories ranks 20th all time.
• After last weekend's first and second round games, the Wolfpack ranked in the national top 25 in:
3rd in scoring margin (+20.0)
5th in field goal percentage (.468)
8th in defensive rebounds per game (30.1)
10th in three point percentage (.370)
10th in rebound margin (+9.5)
10th in fewest turnovers per game (12.1)
12th in scoring offense (77.3)
15th in rebounds per game (42.3)
22nd in assist-turnover ratio (1.18)
24th in three pointers made (254)
• NC State's five starters have each played 90+ career games and have combined for 6,547 career points - Raina Perez (1,831), Elissa Cunane (1,821), Kayla Jones (1,049) Jakia Brown-Turner (952), Kai Crutchfield (894). Only Indiana's starters (7,863) have combined for more career points among all Sweet 16 teams this season.
• The Wolfpack's 28-point win over Longwood marked its largest scoring margin in an NCAA Tournament victory, and NC State bettered that in its 32-point win over Kansas State. The only other time the Wolfpack has won a pair of NCAA Tournament games by 25+ points in the same season was during the 1998 postseason.
SATURDAY STORYLINES
• Four Wolfpack players are averaging double figures scoring in the 2022 NCAA Tournament - Perez (15.5), Diamond Johnson (13.5), Brown-Turner (12.0) and Jones (12.0). Perez has scored 10+ points in four of her five career NCAA Tournament games and 15+ in the last three. All four of those players are shooting 50+ percent from the field.
• NC State has won its last 12 games in a row. Its last loss came at the hands of Notre Dame in an ACC regular-season matchup between the two squads on Feb. 1. That three-point decision marked the Pack's only loss in conference play this year.
• The Wolfpack has now met up with two teams (Kansas State and Notre Dame) in the NCAA Tournament that it previously faced during the 2021-22 regular season. NC State has faced such a scenario with repeat matchups in four previous NCAA Tournaments (1984 - Virginia, 1985 - ODU, 2018 - Elon, 2019 - Maine). Until now, the team had never played two NCAA Tournament games against opponents it had already faced earlier in the year.
• The Wolfpack played six of the other 15 teams in the Sweet 16 at some point during the 2021-22 regular season.
• Kai Crutchfield is one game away from setting the new mark for most NCAA Tournament games played by any NC State women's basketball player. With the 2020 tournament being canceled due to the pandemic, Crutchfield will have accomplished that mark in four tournaments.
SERIES HISTORY (Notre Dame leads 8-2)
• Saturday's game marks the 11th overall meeting between NC State and Notre Dame. It will be just the second time that the teams will meet twice in the same season, as they also did so in 2013-14, Moore's first year as head coach of the Wolfpack.
• NC State and Notre Dame have never played one another in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Wolfpack owns just two wins in the all-time series between the squads. The Wolfpack upset second-ranked Notre Dame at home on Dec. 29, 2016 (70-62) and earned its first-ever road win against the Fighting Irish on Jan. 12, 2020 (90-56).
• Saturday's contest marks the seventh time that NC State and Notre Dame will meet as a pair of ranked squads. NC State is 0-6 in the previous such contests. The Wolfpack has only been the higher-ranked team in two of those games - its first-ever meeting against Notre Dame (No. 8 Wolfpack vs. No. 14 Fighting Irish on Nov. 21, 1996) and its most recent meeting earlier this season (No. 3 Wolfpack at No. 20 Fighting Irish on Feb. 1).
#GoPack | @PackWomensBball
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – NC State women's hoops (31-3) makes its fourth-straight NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance on Saturday as it takes on ACC foe Notre Dame (24-8) in Bridgeport, Conn. The game is set for an 11:30 a.m. tip off from the Total Mortgage Arena, with the winner advancing to Monday's Elite 8 game.
The game will be televised nationally on ESPN with Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe and Andraya Cater on the call. Andrew Sanders and Ernie Myers will also have the radio call on WKNC 88.1 FM in Raleigh.
A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD
• Secure NC State's second Elite Eight berth in program history and its first since the 1998 NCAA Tournament
• Be the 998th win in program history (997-477)
• Be head coach Wes Moore's 780th career win (779-237)
• Be Moore's 222nd win at NC State (221-68)
• Be the Wolfpack's 29th NCAA Tournament win of all time (28-26)
• Extend NC State's winning streak to 13 games
• Mark the Pack's ninth over a nationally-ranked opponent this season, setting a new single-season program record
NOTING THE WOLFPACK (31-3)
• NC State was ranked No. 3 in the final Associated Press Top 25 release of the season to tie the program's best final AP ranking in history. The Wolfpack has been featured in the season-ending AP Top 10 four seasons in a row, extending its program-best streak. The team was ranked fifth or higher in every poll this season.
• The Pack's first-round win over Longwood marked its 30th overall victory of the season, setting a new single-season program record. NC State is the 63rd NCAA Division I women's basketball program to hit the 30-win plateau at least once in its history.
• NC State is three wins away from 1,000 in program history. The team's 997 all-time victories ranks 20th all time.
• After last weekend's first and second round games, the Wolfpack ranked in the national top 25 in:
3rd in scoring margin (+20.0)
5th in field goal percentage (.468)
8th in defensive rebounds per game (30.1)
10th in three point percentage (.370)
10th in rebound margin (+9.5)
10th in fewest turnovers per game (12.1)
12th in scoring offense (77.3)
15th in rebounds per game (42.3)
22nd in assist-turnover ratio (1.18)
24th in three pointers made (254)
• NC State's five starters have each played 90+ career games and have combined for 6,547 career points - Raina Perez (1,831), Elissa Cunane (1,821), Kayla Jones (1,049) Jakia Brown-Turner (952), Kai Crutchfield (894). Only Indiana's starters (7,863) have combined for more career points among all Sweet 16 teams this season.
• The Wolfpack's 28-point win over Longwood marked its largest scoring margin in an NCAA Tournament victory, and NC State bettered that in its 32-point win over Kansas State. The only other time the Wolfpack has won a pair of NCAA Tournament games by 25+ points in the same season was during the 1998 postseason.
SATURDAY STORYLINES
• Four Wolfpack players are averaging double figures scoring in the 2022 NCAA Tournament - Perez (15.5), Diamond Johnson (13.5), Brown-Turner (12.0) and Jones (12.0). Perez has scored 10+ points in four of her five career NCAA Tournament games and 15+ in the last three. All four of those players are shooting 50+ percent from the field.
• NC State has won its last 12 games in a row. Its last loss came at the hands of Notre Dame in an ACC regular-season matchup between the two squads on Feb. 1. That three-point decision marked the Pack's only loss in conference play this year.
• The Wolfpack has now met up with two teams (Kansas State and Notre Dame) in the NCAA Tournament that it previously faced during the 2021-22 regular season. NC State has faced such a scenario with repeat matchups in four previous NCAA Tournaments (1984 - Virginia, 1985 - ODU, 2018 - Elon, 2019 - Maine). Until now, the team had never played two NCAA Tournament games against opponents it had already faced earlier in the year.
• The Wolfpack played six of the other 15 teams in the Sweet 16 at some point during the 2021-22 regular season.
• Kai Crutchfield is one game away from setting the new mark for most NCAA Tournament games played by any NC State women's basketball player. With the 2020 tournament being canceled due to the pandemic, Crutchfield will have accomplished that mark in four tournaments.
SERIES HISTORY (Notre Dame leads 8-2)
• Saturday's game marks the 11th overall meeting between NC State and Notre Dame. It will be just the second time that the teams will meet twice in the same season, as they also did so in 2013-14, Moore's first year as head coach of the Wolfpack.
• NC State and Notre Dame have never played one another in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Wolfpack owns just two wins in the all-time series between the squads. The Wolfpack upset second-ranked Notre Dame at home on Dec. 29, 2016 (70-62) and earned its first-ever road win against the Fighting Irish on Jan. 12, 2020 (90-56).
• Saturday's contest marks the seventh time that NC State and Notre Dame will meet as a pair of ranked squads. NC State is 0-6 in the previous such contests. The Wolfpack has only been the higher-ranked team in two of those games - its first-ever meeting against Notre Dame (No. 8 Wolfpack vs. No. 14 Fighting Irish on Nov. 21, 1996) and its most recent meeting earlier this season (No. 3 Wolfpack at No. 20 Fighting Irish on Feb. 1).
#GoPack | @PackWomensBball
Players Mentioned
Wing
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Center
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's BasketballZamareya Jones Summer Media Availability
Wednesday, July 23
Coach Moore Summer Media Availability
Wednesday, July 23
Aziaha James Introductory Press Conference with Dallas Wings
Wednesday, April 23
Saniya Rivers Introductory Presser with Connecticut Sun
Tuesday, April 15