Sports
TECHNICIAN
PAGE 11 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2018
Maize adds strength to Wolfpack
BRANDON LANG/TECHNICIAN
Senior center Akela Maize posts up with the ball against Lee University. Maize led the team with 13 points scored in 17 minutes of action. The Wolfpack would go on to win 5742 in Reynolds Coliseum on Nov. 2.
Kailee Jurnak Correspondent
NC State women’s basketball senior center Akela Maize has come a long way in the past four years. Maize has become a respectable player but she didn’t start with basketball. When asked about why she started basketball, Maize gave a unique response. “Basketball? Well you know I used to be a cheerleader; I used to be a dancer,” Maize said. “I did so much stuff but over the years people [would] tell [me] with my height being 6’5” like, ‘you know, basketball is where most people with your height go.’ So then [I] tried it out like a social thing and your friends play it too and you’re just having fun while you’re doing it. And then along the way you start to love the game and you start to love how the fans react to a 3-point shot or a blocked shot, things like that you feel and you gather energy. So that’s where I chose basketball because in other sports
you don’t really get that [energy]. I like that aspect of that.” That energy from the fans is what helped Maize’s decision to come play at NC State. “The fans are great here,” Maize said. “They’re honestly our sixth man helping us win games with their energy, bringing the energy to help us, uplift us, and that was a big thing when I had come to a State game before I committed [to State]. Just seeing how engaged they were. It was like they were on the team with us. So that was a big reason why I came to State.” And the Wolfpack is glad she chose NC State. This season has been a great year for Maize all-around, with career highs in blocks, shots and rebounds, including a high of 11 total rebounds against Virginia Tech. Two career records against Alabama were managing five blocks and 20 points. Despite the career highs, Maize explains that she just wants to do her best for the team. “I know I was going to have a bigger role,
GLENN WAGSTAFF/TECHNICIAN
Senior center Akela Maize jumps to dunk the ball into the basket at the NC State vs. University of Southern Alabama women’s basketball game in Reynolds Coliseum on Nov. 17. The Wolfpack women’s basketball team won against the Jaguars 71-50 to bring its record to 4-0 on the season.
this being my senior year,” Maize said. “I don’t really think about career highs. It’s a great thing that I have those career highs, but I know as a player and as a leader on the team that I need to step up my game. Having those career highs is a result of that.” Associate head coach Nikki West agreed with Maize stepping up as a role model on the team and explained that Maize isn’t only a reliable player on the court. “Akela is a leader on the court as well as off the court,” West said. “I think she’s doing a very good job of mentoring her teammates and especially the freshmen, making sure that they understand their roles and what we expect, and just making sure everyone is in line. She’s done a great job at doing that.” Personally, Maize takes pride in her defensive contributions to the team, claiming it’s her largest strength towards the team’s efforts. “Definitely defense,” Maize said. “I’m the leading shot blocker on our team. So
I definitely bring that defensive intensity and defensive help. That can lead to quick buckets and transition, which, we’re really good in transition, and we get a lot of energy from transition. So that also helps our game.” West took a different angle though; and praised Maize’s strength in offensive plays. “Akela’s biggest strength I would have to say is being a force on that low block and making people have to respect that and guard us down there,” West said. “She’s given us some more offense because, face it, last year we had a lot of guards who contributed a lot of points. And Akela who has done a good job of picking up that slack and scoring for us on a consistent basis.” Even after all of Maize’s accomplishments and growth this year, she remains humble and level-headed, acknowledging things she wishes to improve upon for the remainder of her last season.
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