On Sunday at 12:00 PM PT on ESPN, Stanford women’s basketball will welcome No. 21 NC State to The Farm. Stanford comes in at 9-6 overall and 1-3 in the ACC while NC State comes in at 11-4 overall and 3-1 in the ACC.

Last time out: On Thursday, Stanford defeated Florida State 89-84 at home. Brooke Demetre was the top scorer for Stanford with 24 points while Elena Bosgana had a double-double with 21 points, 15 rebounds, and six assists.

RECAP: Stanford WBB defeats Florida State in ACC home opener

On NC State: The Wolfpack are having a strong season with wins in league over Louisville, Clemson, and Boston College. Their lone loss in league play is in their most recent game at Cal on Thursday. They also have a win over Ole Miss, who was ranked in the top 20 and is still receiving votes. Their other losses are at TCU, vs. No. 6 LSU on a neutral court, and vs. No. 2 South Carolina, who ranked No. 1 at the time that they played.

The Wolfpack are led by senior guard Aziaha James, who is averaging 16.8 points and 5.2 rebounds. Two others are also scoring in double figures in sophomore guard Zoe Brooks (12.5 points & 4.2 rebounds) and senior guard Saniya Rivers (12.2 points & 6.5 rebounds).

As a team, the Wolfpack average 74.1 points per game on 43.8% shooting from the field, 33.2% shooting from 3-point range, and 63.4% shooting from the foul line. They average 43.0 rebounds, 13.0 assists, 6.6 steals, 4.5 blocks, and 13.1 turnovers per game. They also average a +4.7 rebound margin and a +1.5 turnover margin. Their opponents average 61.4 points per game on 36.0% shooting from the field, 28.5% shooting from 3-point range, and 70.1% shooting from the foul line.

Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is keep moving the ball well. Against Florida State, they had 19 assists, doing a great job of creating open looks for each other. If they keep that up, they should be tough to beat.

Secondly, Stanford needs to not go brain dead on inbounds plays. This is a very specific and unusual key to the game but given that inbounding issues nearly cost them the game against Florida State while costing them the game at LSU, this is becoming a pattern. Stanford has to make sure that if they are up late, they don’t do anything stupid to allow NC State to get back in the game.

Third, Stanford needs to maintain good energy. For most of the game against Florida State, Stanford played with great energy. Freshman point guard Shay Ijiwoye a big part of that. If Stanford plays with that same type of energy on both ends of the floor, they should be in a good spot.

Finally, Stanford needs to make their free throws. They shot 10-25 from the line against Florida State. Had they shot even 15-25 from the line, they wouldn’t have had any drama late. Stanford needs to make sure they are knocking down their free throws and also getting the ball into the hands of their best foul shooters in crunch time.

Prediction: Given Stanford won their previous game, I’m gonna pick them to defend their home court once more by a final score of 76-75. I think this one could go either way, but I’ll give Stanford a one point edge.

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