Summer Erb, that is.

	Freshman Kaayla Chones had made a big impact for the Wolfpack this season.

The Wolfpack's 6-foot-6 center and only senior is back after missing seven games because of a broken foot -- just in time for the NCAA Tournament.

With Erb in the lineup, North Carolina State was a top 10 team. The Wolfpack started the season 14-0 and climbed to as high as third in the poll. They seemed destined for a high seed in the NCAA Tournament, maybe as the Atlantic Coast Conference champion.

Then after being fouled from behind while on a breakaway layup with 36 seconds left in State's 86-76 victory over North Carolina on Feb. 3, Erb crashed to the floor and a bone in her left foot cracked.

The Wolfpack (20-8) won their first three games without her, but they have lost the last four and plummeted to 23rd in the rankings. They're seeded fifth in the Midwest Regional and will play SMU on Saturday in Norfolk, Va.

"I feel like we hit a wall," North Carolina State coach Kay Yow said. "We have seven freshmen. Half our team are freshmen, and the intensity and the pressure of having to change roles three-fourths of the way through the season because of Summer's injury, it was just too much."

Erb was the ACC player of the year last season and helped North Carolina State get to the Final Four two years ago. She was averaging 15.8 points and 8.4 rebounds and shooting 55.5 percent when she got hurt.

"I wouldn't expect her to play more than 15 minutes, but you never know. Every day means a lot to her healing," Yow said. "And I think in a game situation, particularly the NCAA playoffs, the adrenaline might kick in and enable her to do more than she thinks.

"But just having Summer cleared, knowing that she will play, will give the team a boost."

North Carolina State has talent beyond Erb. Freshman Kaayla Chones averages 11.3 points and 7.9 rebounds and junior Tynesha Lewis has an 11.1 scoring average. Freshman Terah James leads the team in assists and the Wolfpack are holding opponents to 38 percent shooting.

"With Summer back and the experience other people have gotten as a result of her not being in the lineup," Yow said, "and if we regain our enthusiasm and passion for the game that we had earlier, all of that could make us a pretty good team."

If NC State beats SMU, it would play 14th-ranked Old Dominion (27-4) or Wisconsin-Green Bay (21-8).

The games between the eighth and ninth seeds often are among the most interesting in the first round because those are the two most evenly matched teams.

In the Midwest at Ruston, La., eighth-seeded Kansas (20-9) plays ninth-seeded Vanderbilt (20-12) in a matchup of two programs with a long history of success.

Kansas has one of the nation's most athletic players in Lynn Pride, who was given a technical foul this season for hanging on the rim. Vanderbilt has a young team that survived a rugged stretch of games at the end and made the tournament despite a 6-8 Southeastern Conference record.

In its last 10 games, Vanderbilt played second-ranked Tennessee and No. 15 LSU twice and fourth-ranked Georgia and 12th-ranked Mississippi State once. Tennessee and Georgia both are No. 1 seeds in the tournament.

"We played more No. 1 seeds than any team in the country," Vanderbilt coach Jim Foster said. "We finished 6-4 in that stretch and played the strongest schedule in the country for our last 10 games. I think we did a pretty good job."

The 8-9 game in the East Regional at Storrs, Conn., sends Missouri Valley Conference champion Drake (23-6) against Clemson (18-11) of the ACC. The winner faces a probable second-round game with No. 1-ranked Connecticut, but Drake coach Lisa Bluder has more to think about than that.

Bluder is expecting her second child in mid-April and tries to stay calm in games, which isn't easy when things get tight.