NC State
Pittsburgh
Pack Back at Home to Face Pitt, Antonelli Ring of Honor Ceremony
1/15/2025 11:21:00 AM | Women's Basketball
NC State Game Notes | Pitt Game Notes | Media Media Central
RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State women's basketball team is back at home to face Pittsburgh on Thursday for a 7 p.m. tipoff at Reynolds Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
At halftime, Debbie Antonelli will be honored into the Ring of Honor, as her banner will be unveiled at halftime. Antonelli is an Emmy Award winning, Hall of Famer broadcaster for ESPN and the ACC Network. She was a three-year starter for the Pack and Coach Kay Yow (1983-86) and a two-time ACC Champion. Antonelli was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022 and North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2021. In the fall, Antonelli was awarded with the 2024 Curt Gowdy Electronic Media Award by Hoop Hall, given to media members who have given outstanding contributions to basketball. Among her philanthropic efforts, Antonelli is a lifetime board member of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, and is on the Special Olympics South Carolina Board of Directors.
ABOUT NC STATE
- ​NC State split its games in California, falling at No. 24/25 Cal before picking up a Quad 1 win at Stanford, 81-67
- The Wolfpack has won eight of the last nine games
- The Pack is in a three-way tie for third in the ACC standings with a 4-1 mark
- The Pack's average opponent NET ranking is the third best in the country (trailing Villanova and South Carolina) at No. 77, the second highest of all Power 4 schools, as well as the fifth toughest strength of schedule in the country
- NC State is one of 10 schools in the country to have picked up at least three Quad 1 NET wins and one of 40 with at least one. The Pack is one of 19 schools to have at least seven top 100 wins
- NC State is No. 21 in the AP Poll. The Pack's four losses are to top 20 teams, including three to top 10 squads: No. 2 South Carolina, No. 5 LSU and No. 10 TCU. The Pack has been ranked in each WBCA Coaches Poll rankings, currently sitting at No. 21
- The Pack has five players who average 9.0 points or more per game
- Aziaha James leads NC State with 16.7 points per game and 33 made 3-pointers. The senior was one of 25 named to the Wooden Midseason Watch List
- Saniya Rivers leads the Pack in rebounds per game (6.8), steals per game (1.4) and blocks per game (1.2)
- Zoe Brooks has a team-leading 3.7 assists per game
- Mallory Collier has a team's best .545 field goal percentage (30-55)
- Head coach Wes Moore has coached over 1,100 games in his career (1,104), having coached his 1,100th vs. James Madison
- The Pack leads the ACC and the country in least fouls per game (11.9). NC State is second in defensive rebounds per game (29.8), which is the 13th best in the country, as well as third in the league in rebounds per game (42.6) and field goal percentage defense (36.3), which are 22nd and 29th in the ACC
SCOUTING PITT
- ​​Pitt was picked to finish 18th in the ACC Preseason Poll. The Panthers were 8-24 last season and 2-16 in the ACC, falling to Georgia Tech, 73-60, in the first round of the ACC Tournament
- Pitt is 9-9 and 1-4 in conference play this season. The Panthers are coming off a tie for the biggest comeback in NCAA history, coming back from being down by 32 points to SMU to beat the Mustangs, 72-59. Pitt outscored SMU 28-0 in the third quarter and went on a 31-0 run
- Khadija Faye leads Pitt, averaging a near double-double with 17.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game and has a team's most 40 blocks
- Brooklynn Miles paces Pitt with 62 assists and Marley Washenitz has a team's most 40 steals
SERIES HISTORY (NC STATE LEADS 11-2)
- The Pack and Panthers will face off for the 14th time of the series
- The first meeting of the series was in 1982, and the two teams have squared off each year since becoming ACC opponents in 2014
- NC State is 5-1 at home in the series
- The Pack is on a nine-game winning streak over Pitt
LAST TIME OUT
- The Pack got back to its winning ways with an 81-67 road win at Stanford, earning a Quad 1 win and handing the Cardinal its first home loss of the season after starting 9-0
- NC State capitalized in points off turnovers, outscoring the Cardinal in that category with 23 vs. 6, forcing 18 Cardinal turnovers
- The Pack also had 40 paint points and 10 3-pointers
- NC State had all five starters in double figures for the second time this season. The Pack's bench also came up huge when two starters were in foul trouble, as Laci Steele had two 3-pointers for six points and Collier went 4-of-5 for eight
- Rivers led the Pack with her fourth double-double of the season, registering 17 points and 11 rebounds with two assists, two blocks and one steal. She played all 40 minutes for the second straight game, third time this season
- James registered 15 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. She had all of her 15 points in the second half
- Brooks also had all of her points in the second half, registering 14 points with four assists
- Madison Hayes recorded 11 points, five rebounds and three assists
- Tilda Trygger earned her second 10+ point game, logging 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and one block and steal
UPCOMING
The Pack will stay at home to host Virginia on Sunday, Jan. 19 at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on The CW.
