‘We’re still alive’: NC State women continue to exceed expectations with Elite Eight berth
N.C. State men’s basketball adopted “Why not us?” as a rallying cry during the ACC Tournament two weeks ago. The women’s basketball team doesn’t have a specific phrase, but it’s in the same position: Exceeding expectations and then some.
The No. 3 seed Wolfpack women (30-6) defeated No. 2 seed Stanford (30-6), 77-67, on Friday night in Portland to advance to the Elite Eight for the second time in three seasons.
Even though the program has a history of success, it wasn’t supposed to be here — at least not according to the preseason expectations.
“We’ve been under-seeded from the jump,” Madison Hayes said Monday. “We’re kind of used to it at this point, but I like the spot that we’re in.”
The Wolfpack was supposed to finish eighth in the ACC. It wasn’t supposed to be good enough to knock off seven Top 25 teams in the regular season, to compete for a league championship.
Neither Vegas nor ESPN analytics picked N.C. State to win this game or the one against UConn, Colorado or about half a dozen others.
None of that mattered.
“We’re definitely the underdogs right now,” Saniya Rivers said at ACC media day in October. “And you know what they say about underdogs: They come out swinging.”
The Wolfpack keeps throwing punches and sending teams home.
“I just remind ‘em from time to time that we have probably been several times picked to end our season, and we’re still here. We’re still alive,” head coach Wes Moore said Thursday, noting the men’s basketball team’s experience. “We’ll just keep hanging in here. I think both our teams have maybe overachieved from what people on the outside thought. What people think on the inside is what matters.”
That’s driven the N.C. State women all year. Even when ranked, some didn’t believe they could hang around. Would the shoe drop?
It hasn’t. Sure, there have been challenges. Just look at its game against Stanford. It struggled to shoot in the first half. The rebounding effort left a lot to be desired. Defense didn’t quite meet the team’s expectations.
N.C. State weathered Stanford’s runs and endured the physicality. It continues to overcome the underestimation.
Aziaha James knocked down a 3-pointer from the mid-court logo in the fourth quarter and put up 29 points in the win. Rivers and Zoe Brooks logged double figures, while Hayes pulled down 10 rebounds.
The bench got in plenty of work, too.
Much of that success is thanks to the Wolfpack’s culture; one of support, of friendship, of sisterhood. The players can have fun, work hard and hold one another accountable. Everyone embraces whatever role is necessary on any given day.
It doesn’t matter who says what. The people inside the locker room know what’s possible and work together with the team’s goal in mind.
“I don’t know if I ever looked this far ahead. As a coach, you’re just preparing for the next game, the process, all that. You don’t get caught up in too much,” Moore said. “But, definitely, it’s exciting to be here. These players are amazing; what they’ve done. They’re just so close. I think that’s been a big part of our success. The chemistry, the culture. They genuinely care about each other and pull for each other to do well.”
It’s the kind of environment they think can win big games. Clearly, they’re onto something and headed back to the Elite Eight. Whoever didn’t believe four months ago is likely believing now.
N.C. State faces No. 1 seed Texas at 3 p.m. ET Sunday. Will it be favored? Who knows, but the Pack doesn’t care.
“I feel like the team that we have and the players that we have, we can do that to anybody here,” Hayes said. “It was just confidence and effort.”
This story was originally published March 30, 2024 at 6:00 AM with the headline "‘We’re still alive’: NC State women continue to exceed expectations with Elite Eight berth."
