NC State might peek ahead in the NCAA Tournament, but not too far ahead.
No. 2-seeded NC State hosts No. 15-seeded Vermont at 2 p.m. Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum. The winner of that contest plays the winner of No. 7-seeded Michigan State and No. 10-seeded Harvard, which is at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
The opponent that could be looming is one that NC State has already played. LSU got the No. 3 seed, and defeated NC State 82-65 on Nov. 27 in the Bahamas.
LSU finished third in the SEC, but played without star guard and leading scorer Flau’Jae Johnson in the league tournament. She last played Feb. 27. Johnson, former DePaul transfer Aneesah Morrow and star sophomore guard Mikaylah Williams make up the new “Big Three” for the Tigers. The trio combined for 60 of the 82 points, plus 21 rebounds in the win against NC State.
NC State started sophomore center Mallory Collier against LSU, while freshman center Tilda Trygger logged five scoreless minutes. Fellow freshman center Lorena Awou had three points, four rebound and four turnovers in 15 minutes of action.
Trygger was averaging 2.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in 12.2 minutes of action after Nov. 27. Awou chipped in 3.8 points and 3.2 minutes in 11.3 minutes per game.
Flash forward to the end of the regular season and ACC Tournament, and the role of Trygger has drastically changed. The native of Sweden is now averaging 6.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 21.2 minutes a contest. Awou and Collier are combining for 6.6 points and 4.9 rebounds in 20.7 minutes per game.
“You still miss River Baldwin and Mimi Collins because they had five years of power five experience,” Moore said. “So you miss that a little bit. I feel a whole lot better now than I did a couple of months ago.
“I think what Tilda's doing is remarkable. She seems to handle it, take it all in stride and doesn't get phased by it a whole lot. Lorena's had some big moments for us coming on as well. Both of them are improving greatly. Then you got Mallory Collier, a little bit of a steadying force, but she's only a sophomore.”
The center position has come around since then Nov. 27. It might not be exactly where NC State hopes it can be, but it’s far better.
“Very proud of them, the work they put in, the time they put in, how much they've improved,” Moore said. “I think a lot of credit goes to our coaches. Nikki West works with our post. Kevin Leatherwood works with our post. I think they've done an excellent job. And Kayla Jones, our grad assistant, is down there with them as well.
The 6-foot-1 Morrow is averaging 18.5 points and 13.6 rebounds per game this season. Potentially looming deep in the NCAA Tournament could be 6-7 junior center Lauren Betts of No. 1-seeded UCLA, who is averaging 19.6 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game.
“Those kids have stepped up, and to think about them being in the fire out there and some big, big games this year and coming through, you know, is pretty amazing for a freshman,” Moore said. “This is going to be their first time to dip their toes in the NCAA waters.”
Moore and NC State know that playing Vermont is the immediate task at hand.
“We're paired up against a Vermont team that's been very hot, won nine out of their last 10, 16 of their last 18, and they're fourth in the country in defense points allowed — 52 points per game,” Moore said. “We obviously have staff working on potential opponents as well.”
Moore can be aided that two of his former assistant coaches — Providence coach Erin Batth and Rice coach Lindsey Edmonds — both played and defeated Vermont this season.
“They can be of help for sure,” Moore said. “I think I've got 13 games on Vermont on my computer right now. I'm not going to watch all 13 of them. Our staff, obviously, we split the games up. We've got a couple of coaches working on Vermont and a couple of coaches here and there looking ahead.
“It definitely helps to have somebody you can turn to and maybe see their approach. I know both of them had success.”
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