RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina State's women's basketball team is back to the Sweet 16 after an 11-year drought.

The Wolfpack beat Maryland 74-60 at Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday to earn their 12th overall appearance in the Sweet 16. However, this is the first appearance since 2007, and the first since Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow died of cancer in 2009.

Coach Wes Moore says NC State, who are ranked 4th in the Kansas City region of the tournament, has been counted out by critics all year. He says that criticism helps the team to play with a chip on their shoulder.

"We're usually picked a whole lot lower than where we end up if you go back and look at the last several years," said Moore. "I kinda like that. I kinda like being the underdog laying low in the grass. Let's prove them wrong."

NC State will face either Mississippi State or Oklahoma State in Kansas City. If they win, they will make their second Elite 8 appearance; the first was in 1998, when Coach Yow led the team to the Final Four.