PORTLAND, Ore. -- Two years after losing to the UConn Huskies in an instant classic in the 2022 Elite Eight, NC State Wolfpack coach Wes Moore said Saturday, "You lose in double overtime to go to the Final Four, it sticks with you. I mean, it haunts you. I mean, no doubt. But you've got to move on."
After losing in the first round of the 2023 tournament without WNBA-bound Elissa Cunane and Raina Perez, both senior stalwarts on the 2022 team, NC State has moved on by returning to the Elite Eight for a matchup Sunday in the regional 4 final against top-seeded Texas.
At stake: the Wolfpack's first trip to the Final Four since 1998, when the legendary Kay Yow led NC State to the national semifinal as a No. 4 seed.
"That's what everybody works for," Moore said of reaching the Final Four. "You know, it's been just a couple of years ago we were in this same position in the Elite Eight, lost in double overtime. So, you know, I think our program expects to be in a position to compete for this every year. And, obviously, it doesn't work out every year. But, you know, this is our goal."
As daunting as the Longhorns look after blowing out No. 4 seed Gonzaga 69-47 on Friday, this matchup does appear more favorable for the Wolfpack than facing UConn in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 2022. While Bridgeport is a 1½-hour drive from UConn's campus in Storrs, neither team can claim home-court advantage in this game, played some 1,700 miles from Austin and over 2,300 miles from Raleigh.
"I think we've got unbelievable chemistry," Moore said. "And don't get me wrong, that team we had two years ago got beat in the Elite Eight in double overtime in the state of Connecticut against Connecticut -- they had it, too. And, you know, unfortunately we got sent up there, and unfortunately I didn't help them maybe make one more bucket in regulation to win that thing."
The NC State roster has almost completely turned over during the two years since the team's last Elite Eight run. Although leading scorer Aziaha James and fellow starter Madison Hayes were on the 2021-22 team, neither played in the game against UConn.
"I mean, it was just amazing, obviously," Hayes recalled of the run. "But I think just learning from that experience, just like how locked in and focused the players were and how we all were as a whole and just the goal that we had.
"I feel like this year that's what we had, the mentality of just wanting to get to a national championship, not just to the Final Four but just do that national championship. I feel like we had that type of caliber team."
Simultaneously, the Wolfpack men are on a historic run of their own, having reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 1986 as an 11 seed after winning the ACC tournament to earn their way into the field.
Both teams played at the same time Friday and Moore admitted sneaking a look or two at the score as the men beat Marquette 67-58 in a game that ended just before the women finished their own upset of Stanford.
"They're doing a great job, and I commend them for how far they've gone," Hayes said. "And it doesn't stop there for them -- and not for us either. We can go even farther too.
"Saniya [Rivers] and I don't think we just look at them as just our men's team, they're like our brothers. We've been supporting them when everyone was doubting them. They're still going. They started, 'Why Not Us'. Now we're saying, 'Why not the Pack?' in general. Why not us either?"
With one more win, the NC State women can both reach the Final Four and exorcise some of Moore's demons from the 2022 Elite Eight loss.
"I'm proud of what this program's done," Moore said. "I didn't even realize when it went across the ticker last weekend after we won the regional that we've gone to the Sweet 16 five out of the last six years.
"So I think, again, our program has the confidence, has the culture and feels like we belong on this stage. But no doubt, we need to take another step. And that's what's in front of us. It will be tough against a great team, but we're excited about the chance."