Coach Wes Moore calls the NC State women’s team a ‘work in progress’ after their loss
Wes Moore wanted to see where his team measured up with the titans of college basketball.
On opening night, No. 5 N.C. State jumped right into the fire, hosting No. 1 South Carolina. After the 66-57 win by the Gamecocks, Moore said the Wolfpack is still a “work in progress.”
Before he even had a chance to watch the film, Moore realized it’s tough to beat a team with the kind of size like South Carolina has. He also knows he’ll need more depth and scoring options to compliment Elissa Cunane, or become scoring threats when Cunane, the N.C. State All-American center, is having an off night.
Moore needs to find a way to incorporate his transfers, Diamond Johnson and Madison Hayes, into the flow of the offense. And he also has to find a way to get some rhythm while he awaits the return of Jada Boyd and for Kayla Jones to get back to 100 percent after a knee injury. Right now, there are more questions than answers.
“We looked lost out there most of the night,” Moore told the media after the game.
That’s a disappointing statement considering Moore returned all of his top players from a year ago, plus added Johnson and Hayes. Even with Jones on a minutes restriction, looking lost was shocking.
Point guard Raina Perez and wing Jakia Brown-Turner didn’t look lost, leading the team with 18 points each. But that was about all Moore got offensively in the first half. By the time other players got their names in the scoring column, South Carolina was figuring it out, extending their lead to double-digits midway through the fourth quarter and never looking back.
Moore wants N.C. State to take that next step, become a national powerhouse and make multiple Final Fours. They found out against a team that knows what that looks like, it’s not an overnight thing.
“We’re a work in progress,” Moore said. “Probably not a great night to play the No. 1 team in the country. We just have to get better and I have to do a better job preparing us for those situations.”
N.C. State pulled to within one three times in the third quarter, but South Carolina had an answer each time, like an experienced does in those situations. If the Wolfpack look to make this season special, they have to learn to get over that one-point hump, especially at home. With the expectations surrounding this team — ranked in the top 5, picked to win the ACC — they can expect everyone’s best shot every night. Granted, they won’t see too many teams like the Gamecocks, who never trailed and won by nine despite an off night from their best player, center Aliyah Boston, who finished with just eight points. Cunane, N.C. State’s best player, finished with eight as well, after scoring in single digits just once all of last season.
Johnson, who averaged 17.6 points per game at Rutgers, struggled in her Wolfpack debut, scoring four points on 2-12 shooting.
“We’re trying to get it all to mesh,” Moore said. “Probably not the greatest situation, playing the No. 1 team in the country (in the opener), but we’re still trying to figure it out.”
As he left the post game press conference Moore joked that he’ll probably be fired by December with their non-conference schedule. They host Wofford on Friday and Florida on Sunday, followed by a game against Towson the following day as part of the Women’s NIT. That concludes on the 19th against Kansas State before the next big test, agains Maryland in the Bahamas on the 25th. There is plenty of season remaining and a lot can be accomplished.
It wasn’t the outcome he wanted, but this is the kind of game that can only help N.C. State this year, in more ways than one.
“We’re trying to break through, we’re trying to get into that elite level,” Moore said. “Obviously, we went down there and won a year ago, so you still felt like we could get in down, especially on the home court, and tip your hat to them (South Carolina) they came in here and took it to us.”
This story was originally published November 9, 2021 at 8:34 PM.
