NC State women's basketball is not ready for the fun to end
NC State women’s basketball gelled as a team last summer, coming together as a close, tight-knit unit that has now won more than 30 games and advanced to the Final Four. Head coach Wes Moore has praised his players throughout the year for how hard they root for each other.
That keeps the team loose in the most tense moments. The Wolfpack celebrate its wins and lifts each other up in losses. NC State is playing its best basketball of the season on its run to the national semifinal and enjoying itself in the process.
“Cleveland rocks, right?” Moore said. “We feel kind of like the party crashers. I don’t know that we got an invitation to this thing, but we’re here.”
Iowa, UConn and South Carolina join the Pack on the Final Four stage this weekend. Each of those programs started the season in the Associated Press top 10. NC State began the season unranked, playing with nothing to lose, and the program maintained that edge all season.
Even when the Wolfpack took down the Huskies early in the year and climbed as high as No. 3 in the top 25, the program played with the hunger of a team that saw all of the doubt before the season.
“I feel it gives us more confidence that people looked down on us and we can change something,” junior guard Aziaha James said.
NC State enjoys the underdog role. The bonds within the Wolfpack locker room have been plenty strong enough to withstand the outside noise during the ups and down of this season. Moore is an intense, fiery head coach, but the players knew that when they joined the program. James stressed that she really likes that style of leadership.
And before the opening tip and after the final buzzer of a game, the Wolfpack head coach embraces the team’s fun-loving collective personality. He lets the team sleep in instead of scheduling early shootarounds.
The intensity and energy the Pack shows when it’s game time earned that faith from Moore.
“I think coach Moore just trusts us,” James said. “He allows us to sing our songs, but then he knows we know when to lock in.”
NC State took a different stage than usual earlier this week. After arriving in Cleveland, the Pack spent Wednesday at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They grabbed some available microphones at the venue and put on a performance.
Moore joined in with a familiar melody that has filled the Wolfpack practice courts and locker rooms all season.
“He’s just a great guy on and off the court,” Junior guard Saniya Rivers said. “He motivates us. He loves us. His favorite song is literally “My Girls,” and he makes sure to sing it to us at least once every week. We love him. We appreciate him. We did this for him as well. We’re just having fun right now.”
Rivers rated Moore’s singing voice an 11/10 with the caveat that she likes her playing time right now.
NC State could tie a program record with win No. 32 in the national semifinal against South Carolina. He’s enjoying his first run to the Division-I Final Four, and he’s ready to keep it going.
“We’re having so much fun,” Moore said. “I don’t want to see it end. That’s what our message has been.”
