N.C. State renews quest for another long March Madness run
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Several N.C. State players reached the sport’s biggest stage last season. Still, they know they can’t be focused on returning to the Final Four as they open the women’s NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
It’s a process, even for a group that enjoyed last March’s journey.
“It’s exciting to be back in this position,” N.C. State coach Wes Moore said. “I wasn’t sure we’d be hosting and things like that, but they’ve done an unbelievable job.”
For now, the attention for the Wolfpack, who’s the No. 2 seed in the Spokane 1 region, is on the first-round game against Vermont.
“I think it’s hard obviously,” N.C. State guard Saniya Rivers said. “We’ve been to the Final Four just last year, and knowing we can get back there, it’s kind of hard not to look ahead.”
No. 7 seed Michigan State (21-9) and No. 10 seed Harvard (24-4) will meet in the other first-round game Saturday in Raleigh.
Among the group in this pod, only N.C. State had postseason success last season.
“Just one step at a time,” Wolfpack guard Aziaha James said. “We can’t think about ahead.”
This N.C. State team has some new personnel, so that makes the experience different.
“We want the freshmen to experience it as well,” Rivers said. “We’ve been through it, I’ve been through it a couple times, obviously playing in South Carolina. It’s an experience, and I want everyone to be able to experience it.”
N.C. State (26-6) has been a top 16 team in five of the last six March Madness brackets and is hosting for the fifth time under Moore.
“It’s what you work for all year,” Moore said. “That’s probably why I put more pressure on myself for more than anything else is trying to make sure you’re a top 16 seed and get the opportunity to host. … It’s why every game is so important because every game is going to be on that resume. Whether it’s a big win or avoiding a bad loss, every night is a challenge.”
He expects the same this weekend at Reynolds Coliseum, where the Wolfpack are 16-0 this season.
“It doesn’t guarantee you anything,” Moore said. “You’ve still got to go out and play well.”
Vermont is 1-7 in NCAA Tournament games, winning as a No. 10 seed in the 2010 first round. A week ago, the Catamounts (21-12) won the America East Conference tournament final on Albany’s court.
“What we’ve seen in the back end of the season is going to help us in moments when N.C. State makes a run and how we stay poised and how we control what we can control,” Vermont coach Alisa Kresge said. “I think those moments are going to be very valuable.”
Reunion weekend
When Michigan State coach Robyn Fralick was a graduate assistant coach at Western Michigan, one of the team’s players was Carrie Moore, who became the program’s all-time leading scorer. Moore is now Harvard’s coach.
“It’s pretty full circle that we’re now across from each other on sidelines,” Fralick said.
They’ll cross paths again for the first-round game.
“To have Robyn as my grad assistant my senior year and to now be playing her team my first time as a head coach (in the tournament),” Moore said. “To now see her success in the business from a far. I’ve always been rooting for her.”
For Michigan State’s Grace VanSlooten and Harvard’s Gabby Anderson, it’s also a reunion. They were teammates on the Amateur Athletic Union circuit and with IMG Academy before going separate ways.
VanSlooten, a transfer from Oregon, is in her first season with the Spartans.
“I’m really excited to see her and just kind of face off because we never thought we’d play each other,” VanSlooten said. “… She’s got a great family that we’re still close with and honestly talk almost every day.”
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