We wrap up South Carolina’s round one win over Mercer.

LA

The big mystery before the game was how South Carolina would replace the injured LeLe Grissett. More specifically, it was how South Carolina would use Laeticia Amihere to replace Grissett.

Amihere still saw time at the four, the position she played all season, but she also picked up many of Grissett’s minutes at small forward. Playing alongside Victaria Saxton and Aliyah Boston, there isn’t much shooting, but Grissett wasn’t a threat to shoot either.

The lineup gives South Carolina an extremely long, athletic “intimidating” front line that can create mismatches on offense and disrupt passing lanes on defense.

“I really like her being in with us,” Saxton said. “She gives us a big presence at the three. That’s what we’re looking at with her being able to attack and be a big guard and posting up smaller guards.”

Amihere finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, a block and steal, although she did have six turnovers (“We’ll clean that part of it up,” Dawn Staley said). The move takes Amihere out of the post, where she has struggled to finish around the rim, and allows her to play facing the basket more. It’s a change Amihere appreciates.

“I asked her while we were just practicing, does she feel any different, does she like this position a little bit better, and she said yes, I feel a lot more free. She’s got an incredible skill set at her height to be able to handle the ball like she does, to be able to pass the ball like she does. She does some things that we don’t have on this team,” Staley said. “You’ve got to scheme for her. She’s got to be a part of your scouting report. She got 11 and eight, which is a great contribution.”

V

It seems fitting that Saxton would tie her career-high with 20 points and someone else would still get most of the attention. That would be Aliyah Boston and her 20 point, 18 rebound domination, so it’s understandable. But it also sums up Saxton’s career as an afterthought.

Double off her to stop penetration? She’s there for a layup. Leave her open to double the post? She’s knocking down jumpers. Think you’ve got a driving lane? She’s blocking shots.

“V is V. V plays the unsung hero for us time and time again,” Staley said. “You need players like her. She doesn’t like the spotlight, but the contributions she gives us are highlighted throughout the stat sheet. I like the role that she plays for us. It’s a low-maintenance, high-performing role for us.”

“Funky lineup”

When Mercer made its run to tie the game in the second quarter, South Carolina had what Staley called a “funky lineup” on the court. From position one to five, it was Destanni Henderson, Zia Cooke, Eniya Russell, Brea Beal, and Victaria Saxton. On paper it’s a good-looking change of pace lineup. There are four shooters, plenty of space to drive, and a chance to create mismatches for Beal and Russell.

Yet the lineup was a mess. Nobody seemed certain what they were trying to do, despite having good rebounders on the floor the Gamecocks couldn’t find a rebound, and the offense was stagnant.

“I rolled the dice,” Staley said. “I wanted to see what we could get from Eniya Russell, and what we got was a mismatch on the defensive side of the ball. We didn’t have enough ball movement. We turned the ball over. We fouled them.”

It will be interesting to see if that lineup makes another appearance. The Gamecocks need to get something from Russell, and need to find a way to jump start Beal’s offense.

Free throws

It seemed as though it took the Gamecocks a little while to adjust to the Alamodome. With no fans in the already cavernous stadium, there is nothing but empty space and blue seats behind the baselines. The Gamecocks started the game 2-7 from the foul line, including an air ball by Brea Beal. From that point on the Gamecocks hit 18-21 from the stripe.

Records

South Carolina’s 52 rebounds against Mercer tied the school record for rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game (2014 against Cal State Northridge). The 31 offensive rebounds broke the previous record of 26 (Kansas, 2013). Aliyah Boston had nine offensive rebounds, tying the school record set by Aleighsa Welch in the 2015 Final Four against Notre Dame. Her 18 rebounds was one shy of the school record for rebounds in a game, set four times.

Staley earned her 500th career win Sunday and now has a career record of 500-182. She is already the career leader in wins at South Carolina with a record of 328-102. Her 0.763 winning percentage is also the best in Gamecock history, and her overall winning percentage is 0.733.

Not Florida State?

Oregon State easily took care of Florida State 83-59. The Beavers took control in the second quarter and won comfortably. The Seminoles got 17 points from former Gamecock Bianca Jackson, but she couldn’t counter the 24 points the Beavers got from Aleah Goodman.

Florida State and South Carolina met in three of the last five NCAA tournaments - every other year since 2015, so it seemed only natural they would meet again. South Carolina and Oregon State have met once, in 2014 in the second round in Seattle. That year the Gamecocks smothered Oregon State sharp-shooter Sydney Wiese, who missed her first 12 shots and was held to just eight points, en route to a 78-69 win.

South Carolina and Oregon State also met in 2018 in the Vancouver Showcase. South Carolina battled back from a 15-point fourth quarter deficit to tie the game with 25 seconds left, but after a questionable foul call Katie McWilliams made a pair of game-winning free throws with 1.9 seconds left.

Chalk

Florida State failing to advance to face South Carolina was the closest thing to an upset on Sunday. The higher seeds went a perfect 16-0, and only one game was even close to an upset: #5 Georgia Tech’s overtime win over #12 Stephen F. Austin.

On one hand, it shouldn’t be too surprising, with all four number one seeds in action. But all four eight/nine games were also played, and the eights won each time. The last time the higher seeds went 16-0 was 2010.

Game time

Late Sunday the NCAA released the schedule for Tuesday’s second round games. South Carolina will play Oregon State at 7:00 pm on ESPN. The Gamecocks will still be in the Alamodome, but will move south to play on Court 2.