The NC State women’s basketball team kicks off its season against East Tennessee State on Nov. 5, but will get to show the fans a few things Friday.
Primetime with the Pack will take place at 7 p.m. Friday at Reynolds Coliseum. The Wolfpack women’s program went 31-7 overall and 13-5 in the ACC, and reached the Final Four thanks to victories over Tennessee-Chattanooga, Tennessee, Stanford and Texas. NC State fell 78-59 to eventual national champion South Carolina on April 5, and will have a rematch against the Gamecocks on ESPN at 3 p.m. Nov. 10 in Charlotte, N.C.
The Red & White scrimmage for men’s basketball, two-skill challenges for the men’s and women’s teams and a slam dunk contest will be the showcase events at Primetime with the Pack.
Fans will also get the opportunity to get a photo with the men’s ACC Championship trophy and NCAA Regional Championship trophies.
NCSU coach Wes Moore and the squad will have an exhibition game against Anderson at 7 p.m. Oct. 29 at Reynolds Coliseum. Moore knows the Wolfpack won’t sneak up on anyone this season, with a lofty No. 9-ranking by The Associated Press in the preseason top 25 rankings.
Moore thinks the team might be ranked a little too high due to the loss of post players River Baldwin and Mimi Collins to graduation.
“Every night, every game, you got to be ready to play and you got to play well, or you're gonna, you're gonna take a hit,” Moore said.
Moore did confirm that senior center Caitlin Weimar, a Boston University transfer, will undergo hip surgery next week, and will be out an indefinite period of time. Weimar was the Patriot League and defensive player of the year and averaged 18.7 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, with 88 blocks last year.
“We'll see how that recovery goes,” Moore said. “We're going to have to make plans to do it without her for the time being, for sure. It’s definitely a setback for us.
"I know this is disappointing for her as well. It's disappointing for us to be without her. She's looking at a pretty long road of recovery and rehab."
NC State will piece together the lone post spot in the lineup among sophomores Maddie Cox and Mallory Collier, senior Lizzy Williamson and freshmen Tilda Trygger and Lorena Awou.
“We still got a long way to go,” Moore said. “We've got a couple of returners — in Lizzie Williamson and Mallory — trying to maybe step up to another level. Hoping they can, again, take on a bigger role.
“Then Lorena and Tilda are options as well as freshmen, excited about what they bring. But again, they're freshmen, so they're going to have some growing pains.”
Trygger brings a unique skillset as being a fluid 6-foot-6 shooter from Sweden.
“I think for her, she's a stretch four,” NC State senior forward Madison Hayes said. “So for her to be 6-6 and be able to shoot the ball that she does, I think is great for us. People are not going to be able to think, ‘Oh, a 6-6 four player can shoot the ball.’
“We just got to get her physically minded, being more physical. I think she's doing a great job.”
It also isn’t out of the question that NC State could go super small with point guard Zoe Brooks, shooting guard Aziaha James, do-it-all guard Saniya Rivers, forward Madison Hayes and a fifth perimeter player such as freshman point guard Zamareya Jones or sophomore wing Laci Steele.
Getting early offense with a fast-breaking squad will be a key until the post position gets settled.
“We ran transition last year, but being able to see what the bigs got to give — we have some new bigs and we got two veteran bigs — that can show what they have,” Hayes said. “I think it's been pretty significant for us to use. I think it'll be really, really helpful to show something different this year.”
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