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1997–98 NC State Wolfpack women's basketball team
Reference material by Wikipedia contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
Intercollegiate basketball season
March 2026
January 2025
Women's basketball 1997–98 NC State Wolfpack North Carolina State University Athletic logo.svg 125 Atlantic Coast Conference ACC 4 10 25–7 12–4 Kay Yow 11th Reynolds Coliseum NCAA tournament Final Four
The 1997–98 NC State Wolfpack women's basketball team represented North Carolina State University during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wolfpack were led by eleventh-year head coach Kay Yow and played their home games at Reynolds Coliseum as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Wolfpack got off to a hot start to the season when they upset second ranked Connecticut in the second game of the season. The Wolfpack were unranked at the time, and vaulted to fourteenth in the nation with the win. They carried their momentum through the Paradise Jam, defeating number 3 Colorado to win the championship. After the tournament win, the team was ranked fifth. Following and ACC–SEC Challenge win over Vanderbilt and a win over Illinois State, the Wolfpack reached their season highest ranking of third. The Wolfpack finished off the non-conference season with three more wins, and finished that portion of the season undefeated. The Wolfpack started the ACC season with wins over Virginia and an overtime victory over number 22 Florida State. Their first loss of the season was not until January 7, 2024, when they lost away to number 13 Virginia Tech. They were upset two games later against Miami (FL), but then won five straight games, including a rivalry game against number 24 North Carolina and over number 15 Louisville. The Wolfpack were again ranked third before losing again to Virginia Tech, this time when the Hokies were ranked number 16. They defeated number 16 Notre Dame and survived an upset scare in overtime against Georgia Tech before losing their rivalry rematch with North Carolina and losing at Duke. They finished the season with an overtime win over number 19 Syracuse and a final game victory over Wake Forest.
The Wolfpack finished the season 31–7 overall and 13–5 in ACC play to finish in a three-way tie for second place. As the second seed in the ACC tournament, they earned a bye into the quarterfinals, where they defeated seventh seed Duke. They defeated sixth seed Florida State to reach the finals. They could not prevail in a low-scoring game, and lost 51–55. They received an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament, marking the sixth straight time the Wolfpack qualified for the tournament. As the third seed in the Portland 4 region, they defeated fourteenth seed Chattanooga in the first round, sixth seed Tennessee in the second round, second seed Stanford in the Sweet 16, and regional first seed Texas in the Elite Eight to qualify for the second Final Four in program history. In the Final Four, they could not overcome overall first seed South Carolina and lost 59–78 to end their season.
Roster
1997 NC State Wolfpack y y w
w Chasity Melvin y FC 6 3 Sr Salemburg, NC Lakewood
Kay Yow https://gopack.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/1997-98
Schedule and results
Sourcehttps://gopack.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule/1997-98 1997–98 NC State Wolfpack women's basketball schedule NC State Athletics gopack.com June 24, 2024
yes 1997-98 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings 1997 yes yes
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!colspan=9 style=NC State Wolfpack| Regular season
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!colspan=9 style=NC State Wolfpack| ACC tournament
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!colspan=9 style=NC State Wolfpack| NCAA tournament
Mar 21, 1998 yes yes 10 4 E 1997 women Old Dominion Monarchs Old Dominion 2 1 E UD Arena Dayton, Ohio Regional Semifinal Sweet Sixteen 55–54N.C. State Stuns Top Seed ODU https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1998/03/22/nc-state-stuns-top-seed-odu/e40f8cdb-9fc1-4453-82c5-9d744e1c6682/ The Washington Post March 22, 1998 June 24, 2024 24–6
Mar 23, 1998 yes yes 10 4 E 1997 women Connecticut Huskies Connecticut 3 2 E UD Arena Dayton, Ohio Regional Final Elite Eight 72–65N.C. State Stops UConn Short of Final Four https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/24/sports/1998-ncaa-tournament-women-s-ncaa-nc-state-stops-uconn-short-of-final-four.html The New York Times March 24, 1998 June 24, 2024 25–6
Mar 27, 1998 yes yes 10 4 E Louisiana Tech 4 3 MW Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri National Semifinal Final Four 65–84La. Tech runs away https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1998/03/28/la-tech-runs-away/ The Tampa Bay Times March 28, 1998 June 24, 2024 17,976 25–7
AP Poll Eastern
Rankings
1997–98 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
AP 0 17 NR NR NR 25 22 20 19 18 17 10 8 12 9 11 10 9 10 10 Coaches 0 18 NR NR NR 23 20 14 14 14 13 9 7 9т 6 8 8 7 10 10 4
^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.
References
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Category:NC State Wolfpack women's basketball seasons
NC State
NC State Wolfpack women's basketball team
NC State Wolfpack women's basketball team
NC State
Category:NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament Final Four seasons