Women's basketball notebook: Guard Aislinn Konig enjoying big senior year

NC State women's basketball guard Aislinn Konig isn’t reflecting much on her senior year bucket list, but she has achieved two critical components in the last two weeks.

No. 9-ranked NC State (15-1 overall, 4-1 ACC) crushed Notre Dame 90-56 on Sunday, giving the Wolfpack their second win in eight meetings since 2014 against the Fighting Irish. That gave Konig, who goes by "Ace," two victories in her career against the traditional power. She is the only NC State player remaining that played in the 70-62 victory Dec. 29, 2016, when she had two points on 1-of-9 shooting.

Konig went 2 of 8 from the field for five points plus five assists in the win Sunday. Notre Dame fell to 6-11 overall and 1-4 in the ACC with the loss.

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“They are having a little bit of a rough year that is uncharacteristic of them, and they are still a very good team,” Konig said. “Being able to get a good win after the UNC loss was a great way to get back on track.”

Konig didn’t look at it as payback for past losses against Notre Dame, but the non-seniors also got to see what defeating Notre Dame feels like.

“Those teams that we played in past years were some of the best teams in the nation, obviously winning the national championship [in 2018],” Konig said.

Konig’s other big honor of late was reaching the 1,000-point plateau at NC State. She drained a 3-pointer Jan. 5 at Reynolds Coliseum against Virginia to reach the milestone . The native of Surrey, British Columbia is averaging 10.8 points and 3.6 assists per game, and shooting 33.6 percent from three-point land this season.

Mixed in between the Virginia and Notre Dame wins was NC State’s first loss of the season — 66-60 at UNC. However, Konig tied her career-high by going 6 of 9 on three-pointers en route to 24 points.

“Getting 1,000 points is a huge honor, and I’m so happy that I was able to do it here at NC State,” Konig said. “I'm really just focusing on a game-to-game basis.”

Konig had picked NC State over Stanford, which is a 6 1/2-hour plane trip from her home in the suburbs of Vancouver.

“There was something about when I got on campus, it felt right,” Konig said. “This was a place I could make home for the next four years. I have no regrets whatsoever.”

NC State has a big matchup Thursday against No. 13-ranked Florida State (15-2 overall, 4-2 ACC), who is built around seniors Nicki Ekhomu, Nausia Woolfork and Kiah Gillespie, all averaging at least 14 points per game. Konig enters the contest with 1,034 career points and 253 three-point field goals made.

The Wolfpack lost to the Seminoles 75-70 in Tallahassee, Fla., last year, but then won 69-62 in the ACC Tournament.

“That is a fantastic team, and [they] have a lot of seniors that I’ve been playing against all four years,” Konig said. “They have a lot of shooters and a lot of scorers.”

NC State coach Wes Moore knew he landed a quality prospect when center Elissa Cunane picked the Wolfpack coming out of Greensboro (N.C.) Northern Guilford.

Cunane has more than lived up to the expectations and faster than expected, which even she would admit. She was named All-ACC Freshman and first-team All-ACC Tournament last year. Cunane learned Jan. 9 that she was named to the midseason watch list for the prestigious John R. Wooden Award. She’s one of four ACC players on the 25-member list.

“I’ve been a little bit surprised,” Cunane said. “Unfortunate events for them last year [multiple injuries], led me to be thrust into more of a prominent position. I am glad for the success that I am having and glad it’s helping our team out.”

Cunane has improved across the board this season. She has gone from 13.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game last year to 17.2 points and 10.6 rebounds a contest this season. She’s shooting a blistering 63.4 percent from the field, 75 percent at the free-throw line and even has made 8 of 15 on three-pointers.

Cunane has topped 20-plus points in six games and has nine double-doubles going in Thursday’s big game vs. Florida State.

“I am shooting the ball from outside and being more comfortable,” said Cunane, who hopes to cut down on her 2.9 turnovers per game. “I am taking it to the hoop instead of kicking it out so much. My defense has gotten a lot better.”

Cunane was a little under the weather in the UNC loss, but rebounded to go 8 of 10 from the field for 22 points in 25 minutes at Notre Dame.

“It was really exciting [vs. ND], especially coming off that UNC game,” Cunane said. “Every win is a bucket list win. It was pretty exciting for our team.

“[With FSU], they are in the ACC and everyone is a tough opponent in the ACC,” Cunane added. “Any time we get a game on our home court, it’s a very exciting game.”

Cunane is also adjusting to her role as an ambassador of Wolfpack women’s hoops. She’s easy to spot for classmates when walking around campus.

“I think it’s cool to set an example,” Cunane said. “It’s cool to spread a little bit of happiness around campus.”

Off the court, Cunane has a vast array of interests, especially being in the outdoors. She recently changed her major to help reflect that.

“I love being outdoors with anything with environmental sustainability,” Cunane said. “I’m passionate about that. I also like reading.

“I just changed to conservation biology major. I’m really happy with my classes this semester.”

NC State junior post player Kayla Jones has enjoyed a breakout season after overcoming serious obstacles along the way.

The 6-1 Jones averaged 4.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game her sophomore year, but has made a considerable jump, especially in shooting percentages. Jones is shooting 50.4 percent from the field and an impressive 39.2 percent on three-pointers to average 9.9 points and 7.0 rebounds a contest.

Jones knows how far she has come over the years.

“There was some doubt there,” Jones said. “There was some hard challenges my freshman year. I wanted to give up sometimes. I stayed the course and stayed focused.”

The journey to reach this point stems back to a serious ACL tear she suffered her junior year at Jamesville (N.C.) Riverside High, in the eastern part of the state. Jones verbally committed to NC State early in the process and did get to have an impressive senior year following her return from the knee injury. She averaged 24 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, but she knew she wasn’t quite all the way back. Jones earned all-state in 2013-14 and 2014-15, and was NCBCA second-team all-state in 2016-17.

“I wish I was in better shape and that I could have taken my time coming back,” Jones said. “I felt like I rushed it, but at the same time, I wanted to play my senior year.”

Jones is cousins with former St. Joseph’s standout James Demery Jr., who averaged 11.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in his four-year college career. She grew up in an area where basketball is all she did in Jamesville, which has a population of 491 people based on the 2010 census.

“We only have one stoplight,” Jones said. “The Dollar General is basically our Walmart. That is about it. We were always playing ball behind the house or video games.

"NBA2K is my favorite. Any team LeBron James was on, I played as it because they put his ratings up real high. I”m the best gamer on the team [at NCSU].”

Jones appeared in 15 games her freshman year at NC State, but even without playing much that season, it gave her confidence in her knee again. She pointed out she has improved at running the floor and playing in the post better this year.

“I think everything happens for a reason,” Jones said. “I just had to either stay down or work my way back up. That happened in high school, so I just had to come here and focus on that. I basically used my freshman year to learn.”

Jones had some good role models to learn from in Kiara Leslie, who had to overcome a serious ankle injury at University of Maryland, Chelsea Nelson and DD Rogers.

“I looked up to them and learned everything that they did,” Jones said. “Everything they taught me, I’m now trying to teach that to the freshmen like Jada Boyd. I am trying to bring her along.”

Jones tied her season-high of 15 points in the big blowout win against Notre Dame on Sunday. She has scored at least 10 points in 11 games and has three double-doubles for points and rebounds.

“I never thought I’d be in this position now,” Jones said. “It is totally different when you look at it now. I’m starting and playing with great teammates. It’s an amazing feeling.”

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