Handing out mid-season awards for NC State women’s basketball

In a season marked by many highs and lows, the NC State women’s basketball team has produced many memorable moments so far.

After losing several key pieces from last season, the team has truly shown its resiliency as it has begun to find its groove. The team’s recent success has certainly been a team effort but the play of some has especially stood out.

In her second season for the Wolfpack, junior guard Diamond Johnson continues to prove why she is one of the best guards in the ACC. She currently averages 13.2 points a game, cashing in on 45% of her shots — including an impressive 41% mark from behind the 3-point arc. She also averages four rebounds and three assists per contest.

Johnson has had plenty of impressive performances this season, but perhaps her best performance came on Nov. 24 against Vanderbilt when she flirted with a triple-double, posting 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the Pack’s victory. Later in a massive road win at Iowa, she scored 22 points, grabbed nine boards and tallied four assists.

In the time following those performances, Johnson has largely struggled to continue her level of success, and as NC State headed into the bulk of conference play, some wondered if she would be able to resume her spectacular play of the early part of the season. However, she put those questions to rest against Louisville.

In a game where the Cardinals kept pace with the Pack for the first half, Johnson helped lead NC State to a crucial victory, scoring 12 points, grabbing five rebounds and recording six assists. A week later in perhaps the largest game of the season, Johnson truly shined in a huge win against Notre Dame. She scored 20 points, including a season-high four 3-pointers, and she came rather close to a doubledouble with eight rebounds.

Throughout this season, several players have shown great improvement, but none perhaps as much as senior center Camille Hobby. She burst onto the scene last season proving clutch in several big moments, and Hobby has continued to be a consistent threat every time the Pack takes the court. This season, however, she has done even more and secured a larger role on the court, averaging 21 minutes of playing time compared to 12 last season.

In regards to her offensive performance, Hobby has shown great improvement, scoring on exactly 50% of her shots and averaging close to nine points per game. This is an improvement from her junior season where she shot 47% and only averaged five points per contest. She also has improved her presence under the rim, using her frame to box out defenders and grab rebounds. She currently averages four rebounds every game, which is nearly double her average last season.

Hobby showed her offensive prowess early in the season in back-to-back games against Iowa and Georgia, posting an identical statline of 10 points, six rebounds and two assists. She has continued to produce into conference play, scoring 12 points and grabbing five boards in an important matchup with Virginia.

Even in games where she doesn’t necessarily score a lot, she is still able to help the team out, whether it means garnering rebounds or forcing turnovers. This was evident in an earlier matchup with Boston College. Even though she saw limited success in regards to scoring, she grabbed three rebounds, recorded two assists and forced three turnovers.

Heading into this past offseason, head coach Wes Moore was faced with a tricky situation as several key players left the program for the WNBA. He then used the transfer portal to help the team restock, a very significant product of which is sophomore guard Saniya Rivers. After transferring from South Carolina, Rivers has been nothing short of amazing in her first season with the Pack.

Despite seeing less action in the beginning of the season, she’s started to see more action and has truly run with it. Even though she’s proven to be particularly successful on the offensive side of the ball, Rivers has truly stood out with her adept defensive skills, becoming a force to be reckoned with as she averages 2.4 forced turnovers per game. Rivers particularly shines in regards to steals, averaging 2.1 per game, which not only leads the team but is also seventhbest in the ACC.

Her elite defensive play was on display when the Pack took on Boston College, when despite a losing effort, she forced a season-high eight steals. A few weeks later against Miami, she continued to show her presence, collecting six steals and getting one block. Her defensive presence was certainly important as NC State scored 19 of their points via turnovers.

With a relatively thin lineup, fans typically see starting lineups change depending on the game. However, one thing that has remained the same is the presence of graduate center River Baldwin coming off the bench. After three seasons at Florida State, she transferred to NC State to help provide extra depth to the squad, and even though she has not started a game this season, she has provided a reliable name to call on when the time comes, commanding a respectable average of six points and five rebounds per game.

Throughout the season, she has collected a double-double twice, once against West Virginia and another versus Davidson. Later in a nail-biter against Syracuse, she had another complete game, posting nine points and six rebounds, and she also had an amazing game against Florida State which saw her record eight points, five rebounds and one assist.