Sarah Cochran
Sophomore center Elissa Cunane holds her shoe after it fell off in the fourth quarter during the 2020 ACC Women's Tournament championship game versus the Florida State Seminoles on Sunday, March 8, 2020 in the Greensboro Coliseum. This is the Wolfpack's first ACC tournament championship since 1991. The Wolfpack beat the Seminoles 71-66.
The No. 8 NC State women’s basketball team ended its 2019-20 campaign as ACC champions and was predicted to be a two-seed in the canceled NCAA Tournament by ESPN’s Bracketology. Over that season, which saw the team reach a final record of 28-4, five players started 31 or more of the 32 games. Of those five players, only guard Aislinn Konig is not still on the roster.
The four players who are still on the roster, junior center Elissa Cunane, sophomore wing Jakia Brown-Turner, senior guard Kai Crutchfield and senior forward Kayla Jones, are all expected to start again this season. The only major question mark in regards to the Wolfpack’s starting lineup is who will replace Konig and play alongside Crutchfield in the back court. The good news is head coach Wes Moore has options.
Replacing Konig is not a simple task. The Canadian sharpshooter has been a mainstay for Moore since her sophomore year, starting over 30 games in each of her final three years at NC State. Over all four seasons, she played in 120 games (99 starts), averaged over 10 points and three assists per game while shooting .390 from the floor (.364 from beyond the arc).
The most likely candidate to step into Konig’s role in the starting lineup is graduate transfer Raina Perez. As the 2020 Big West Player of the Year in her senior season at Cal State Fullerton, Perez is the most experienced of the guards Moore could pick from.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of this: Her team finished sixth in the Big West Conference, and she was voted MVP,” Moore said in a Zoom call on Nov. 12. “That doesn’t happen very often. I love her maturity, I love her work ethic. She’s really gonna help soften the loss of Ace Konig. She’s not gonna replace Ace Konig, but she’s gonna help soften that a little bit. Obviously we’ve got some freshmen that are looking really good as well.”
The freshman guards Moore was referring to are Rebecca Demeke, Dontavia Waggoner and Genesis Bryant. In addition to the three freshmen, Moore also has sophomore Kendal Moore.
There is a chance we see multiple people play significant minutes in that role in the early games of the season, but more than likely, Perez will lock down that role. Moore did express confidence in Bryant’s ability as well, so she could be the first guard off the bench.
While the Wolfpack might not be able to get Konig-level production out of whoever steps into her shoes, the other four members of last year’s starting lineup are more than capable of picking up any slack.
Cunane and Brown-Turner were both named to the preseason All-ACC teams and both have also been featured on award watch lists. Cunane has been named to the Lisa Leslie Award, Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy and Wade Trophy watch lists, while Brown Turner has been named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch list.
Leading the team in scoring and rebounding last season, Cunane averaged a double-double last season. Brown-Turner averaged 9.4 points per game last season as a freshman, so those numbers are sure to go up this season.
The other two returning members of the starting lineup, Jones and Crutchfield, bring some intangibles to the team: experience and leadership. That isn’t to say that the two can’t score or rebound, but the experience and leadership they bring is even more important.
Moore said in his Nov. 12 presser that he is asking Jones to play more of the three role this season, in addition to playing the four like she has in previous years.
“She has a very, very high basketball IQ; she sees things on the floor,” Moore. “We’re trying to play her at the three. She’s played at the four the last few years, so we’re trying to get her on the court at the three some to try to get Jada Boyd on the court some. Jada Boyd is obviously super athletic; we’d like to get her out there more.”
That bigger lineup could also see Elle Sutphin get some playing time at the power forward position. The redshirt freshman reclassified to join the program a year early before redshirting last year. According to Moore, she is an “unbelievable shooter.”
In addition to Sutphin, Boyd and Bryant, Moore also has sophomore center Camille Hobby and redshirt sophomore center Jada Rice. Both are solid players down low and can eat up minutes when Jones or Cunane are either in foul trouble or need a rest.
The key to this season for Moore’s team will be finding someone, not to replace Konig, but to step into her role and facilitate the play of the four returning members of last season’s ACC Championship starting lineup.
NC State gets its first look at answering that question on Wednesday, Nov. 25 when it takes on North Florida in Reynolds Coliseum at 2 p.m. The game will be televised on ACC Network and keep up with live updates by following @TechSports on Twitter.