The last time the NC State women’s basketball team was on the court in the Greensboro Coliseum, it was lifting a trophy and cutting down the nets, as the Pack celebrated its first ACC Title since 1991 after a 71-66 win over Florida State.
The 2020 Pack capped its season off in the best way imaginable, hoisting that ACC trophy in what would end up being the last day of the season for NC State with the NCAA Tournament getting canceled the next week.
Now the 2021 version of the Pack, ranked No. 3 in the country, will head back to Greensboro this week, looking to defend that title before heading into an NCAA Tourney where a trip to the Final Four is fully on the table.
When the Wolfpack hits the court Friday evening, against either Miami or Virginia Tech who play Thursday, it will bring not only one of the nation’s most talented rosters with it, but something else that could play a big role in this year’s conference tournament; the confidence and knowledge of knowing what it takes to win it all in Greensboro.
“Somebody said ‘does that put more pressure because you won it last year?’,” said head coach Wes Moore. “I don’t really think so. In fact, I think it could work in reverse. At least we know we can do it. You can go in with that confidence that ‘hey, we’ve been able. We know our routine. We know our preparation, the process we go through that week. We know it can work.’ But we also know it’s tough. So I think it’ll be very similar, except hopefully we’ll have confidence.”
This year’s Pack looks mostly the same as last year’s, and that experience in Greensboro in 2020 should certainly translate to this year. Yes, the Pack doesn’t have ACC Tournament MVP Aislinn Konig with it, but grad transfer point guard Raina Perez has filled that role more than admirably this season. Some depth role players from the 2020 squad are also gone, but in their places have emerged some others who saw them get it done.
The confidence is oozing for an NC State team coming off a 17-2 regular season campaign that featured multiple wins over the top-ranked team in the country, but that confidence has always been there for this squad.
While an ACC title under the belt may help ease some nerves heading into a new postseason, for the players on this NC State team the confidence isn’t all that unfamiliar.
“I would say that we’re about the same,” said star center Elissa Cunane. “We definitely have a lot of experience under us now. We have the confidence knowing that we can step on the court and win every game. But honestly, that’s how we approached everything last year as well. We knew we could beat any team that we step on the court with. I think we definitely won’t have as many nerves this year, but we are going to be ready to go.”
With its confidence level so high, the Wolfpack really isn’t feeling any of the pressure that some may think comes with being the defending champions. The pressure to perform night in and night out is something this NC State team has come to expect. That’s what happens to the elite programs who get everybody else’s best every single time they step on the court.
For a Wolfpack team that went on the road and took down No. 1 twice this season, has spent almost the entire year in the top five itself and has that 2020 ACC champions banner hanging at home in Reynolds Coliseum, the expectation every single time it steps on the court is to win.
“Obviously there is a little pressure being ACC champions last year and also having that number in front of our name. There’s a little bit every single time we step on the court,” Cunane said. “But I think that as a team we know that those numbers and that ACC championship last year, they don’t matter. We have the confidence that this year we can step on the court and beat anyone.”
NC State has proved time and again that it can “step on the court and beat anyone,” and it showed last year that it could do that in the postseason as well. Almost everyone on the team has that experience to rely on, as six of the seven players that played over 10 minutes in ACC play this season saw action in Greensboro last year.
That one player that didn’t is of course Perez, who transferred into NC State last offseason and has made a monumental difference on the court for the Wolfpack. While Perez may not have that ACC Tournament experience to go on, there isn’t any concern that she’s going to be just fine.
When asked if she’s had a conversation with Perez about what to expect in Greensboro, Pack senior guard Kai Crutchfield somewhat chuckled at the idea that Perez would need that talk.
“Raina’s a great player,” Crutchfield said. “I’m sure you all have seen it throughout the season. She’s a top-caliber player. She’s the type of person that can take on adversity and do everything she needs to do to step in and help the team win. But I’ll have a conversation with her, and I’ll let you know how it goes.”
Despite all the accolades and big wins NC State has put together, there’s reason as well for the Pack to feel somewhat slighted heading into postseason play. NC State didn’t get to claim a regular season ACC title this year despite the same amount of losses as Louisville and a head-to-head win, with the Cardinals claiming yet another regular season crown thanks to playing a couple more games in a COVID-impacted season.
On top of that, the Wolfpack is still being projected as a No. 2 seed in the big dance by ESPN, while a South Carolina team with four losses, including one to the Pack, holds a No. 1 seed.
But NC State isn’t worried about all that. This Pack team knows it has what it takes to win, and that’s all it is focused on.
“It’s all about us and being the best version of NC State we can be,” Moore said. “Let the chips fall where they may...This is going to be a big challenge coming up right here when you go to the ACC Tournament and you know you are facing great teams all week. That’s what we’ve got to focus on, just doing the best we can over there this weekend.”
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