NC State women’s hoops look to build on growing culture

The game, and her collegiate career with it, might as well have been over.

No. 3 North Carolina State trailed No. 1 South Carolina by 25 points midway through the fourth quarter, but as she sat on the bench, Mimi Collins never disengaged from what was happening in front of her.

She watched with purpose. She clapped for her teammates. She pointed out details. When freshman Laci Steele fired up a 3-pointer from the right wing, Collins sprang out of her seat and lifted three fingers in the air.

“I just understand that being a big sister never stops. I wanted to be there for them,” Collins said. “We understood the score, but this was a learning experience for those freshmen. To tell them what I see will help them in the future… And I never wanted to be that vet that quit or hung my head because I have these young ladies that are counting on me.”

River Baldwin was still competing on the court, but in her own way, she was doing the same as Collins. The clock was ticking down, and still, she was leaping into the air, grabbing a defensive rebound with both hands. A pair of Gamecocks — Chloe Kitts and Sania Feagin — tried to take it from her, but Baldwin wildly threw her elbows out, protecting the ball and scaring them away.

If this was going to be the final game in a Wolfpack uniform for the 6-foot-5 center from Alabama, she wasn’t going down without a fight.

With 2:08 left and N.C. State down 20, Baldwin lined up to take a charge. She didn’t get the