NC State women's basketball released its 2021-22 non-conference schedule Thursday.

The Wolfpack is coming off of a 2020-21 campaign in which it won back-to-back ACC Tournament Championships for the first time in program history. The Pack also earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, another program-first, and defeated two top-ranked opponents during the regular season (South Carolina and Louisville), becoming the third team in women's college basketball to do so in the past 20 years and the first to claim both victories on the road.

NC State ended the 2020-21 season ranked No. 3 in the final AP Top 25 poll.

Now the Wolfpack will kick off the 2021-22 campaign with a non-conference slate that includes three opponents that finished last season inside the AP Top 25, two of which the Pack will host at Reynolds Coliseum.

Head coach Wes Moore and his team will play eight of the games at home, and two more in the Bahamas in a Thanksgiving week neutral-site tournament. The Wolfpack will play an 1tth non-conference game in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge against an opponent and at a time to be announced at a later date.

Here are NC State's non-conference opponents ranked from No. 10 (least-challenging) to No. 1 (most-challenging):

2020-21 Record: 13-11

Final 2020-21 NET Ranking: 254th

2020-21 Postseason Result: Southern Conference Tournament Runner-up

Final 2020-21 AP Top 25 Ranking: N/A

ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 25 Ranking: N/A

2020-21 Record: 7-19

Final 2020-21 NET Ranking: 203rd

2020-21 Postseason Result: Lost in Western Conference Tournament quarterfinals

Final 2020-21 AP Top 25 Ranking: N/A

ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 25 Ranking: N/A

2020-21 Record: 7-8

Final 2020-21 NET Ranking: 156th

2020-21 Postseason Result: Lost in Colonial Athletic Association Tournament quarterfinals

Final 2020-21 AP Top 25 Ranking: N/A

ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 25 Ranking: N/A

The NC State-Elon game is a traditional in-state matchup for the Wolfpack against the program former legendary head coach Kay Yow got her start in coaching. The Pack handled the Phoenix in a 76-47 victory last season.

2020-21 Record: 13-9

Final 2020-21 NET Ranking: 154th

2020-21 Postseason Result: Lost in Colonial Athletic Association Tournament quarterfinals

Final 2020-21 AP Top 25 Ranking: N/A

ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 25 Ranking: N/A

2020-21 Record: 9-18

Final 2020-21 NET Ranking: 99th

2020-21 Postseason Result: Lost in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals

Final 2020-21 AP Top 25 Ranking: N/A

ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 25 Ranking: N/A

2020-21 Record: 12-14

Final 2020-21 NET Ranking: 76th

2020-21 Postseason Result: Lost in the second round of the SEC Tournament, Lost in the second round of the WNIT

Final 2020-21 AP Top 25 Ranking: N/A

ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 25 Ranking: N/A

2020-21 Record: 12-12

Final 2020-21 NET Ranking: 37th

2020-21 Postseason Result: Lost in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals, lost the first round of the NCAA Tournament to South Florida

Final 2020-21 AP Top 25 Ranking: N/A

ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 25 Ranking: N/A

2020-21 Record: 21-7

Final 2020-21 NET Ranking: 15th

2020-21 Postseason Result: SEC Tournament runner-up, lost the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Oregon

Final 2020-21 AP Top 25 Ranking: N/A

ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 25 Ranking: N/A

2020-21 Record: 26-3

Final 2020-21 NET Ranking: 4th

2020-21 Postseason Result: Big Ten Tournament champions, lost in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament to Texas

Final 2020-21 AP Top 25 Ranking: 7th

ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 25 Ranking: 5th

"Brenda Frese remade her roster last offseason due to transfers and graduations, and turned it into a Sweet 16 run and AP Coach of the Year honors," Women's college basketball analyst Charlie Creme said in his way-too-early Top 25 rankings in April. "Katie Benzan and Chloe Bibby, who each came to College Park as grad transfers, both announced they're coming back, which boosted the Terps a spot. With Benzan's 3-point shooting and Bibby's versatility, plus point guard Ashley Owusu, wing Diamond Miller and forward Angel Reese, Frese will continue to have a dynamic offense.

"Despite some great regular seasons, the Terrapins haven't been beyond the Sweet 16 since reaching the Final Four in 2015. How quickly Maryland can get over the disappointment of this year's loss to Texas in the regional semifinals might be the key to ending that streak."

Since Moore became the head coach of the Wolfpack in 2013, NC State is 3-0 against the Terrapins.

2020-21 Record: 26-5

Final 2020-21 NET Ranking: 5th

2020-21 Postseason Result: SEC Tournament champions, lost in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament to Stanford

Final 2020-21 AP Top 25 Ranking: 6th

ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 25 Ranking: 2nd

South Carolina will be looking for revenge in the second stint of the home-and-home series after NC State handed the top-ranked Gamecocks their first loss of the season in Columbia last year.

South Carolina went on to win the SEC Tournament Championship and reached the Final Four, but fell just short of reaching the title game after a heartbreaking loss to Stanford in the national semifinals.

"The nation's top-rated recruiting class of 2019 has already paid great dividends," Creme said. "Aliyah Boston, Zia Cooke, Brea Beal and Laeticia Amihere have formed the foundation of a program that has gone 58-6 in its two seasons. Now Dawn Staley is bringing in another No. 1 class.

"Point guard Raven Johnson, guard Saniya Rivers, and forward Sania Feagin are ranked second, third and fourth behind Fudd on the espnW 100 list for 2021. Add Gamecocks starters Destanni Henderson and Victaria Saxton into the mix and the competition in practice might be more substantial than what South Carolina faces in some games."

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