South Carolina and Georgia Tech meet Sunday afternoon with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line.

1. Rebounding

During the season South Carolina was fourth in rebounding (47.9) and third in rebounding margin (+15.3). That’s tough to improve on, but South Carolina has gotten even better in the NCAA Tournament. Through two games in the tournament, South Carolina is averaging 51 rebounds per game with a plus-21.5 rebounding margin.

Against Mercer, Aliyah Boston did most of the work with 18 rebounds. Against Oregon State, Brea Beal had 11 rebounds, but it was more of a team effort as six players had at least five rebounds.

Georgia Tech, on the other hand, is just okay. The Yellow Jackets are plus-3.0 rebounding this season, which ranks 85th in the country. Georgia Tech has good size along the front line, but part of what makes South Carolina such a good rebounding team is how well the guards rebound. Aside from Beal (5.1 rpg), Destanni Henderson (4.9 rpg), Zia Cooke (2.9 rpg) and Destiny Littleton (5.5 rpg in the tournament, since LeLe Grissett’s injury). Not only do they rebound, but then they can start the break.

It’s quite a difficult position for opponents. Not only do you have to tyro to keep Boston off the glass, you have to decide whether to have your guards stay in to rebound or get back on defense to slow South Carolina’s fast break.

2. Tightening the rotation

Without LeLe Grissett, Dawn Staley has tightened the rotation. All ten available players played in both games, but in the second half against Mecer and the entire game against Oregon State it was essentially a seven-player rotation. Amihere and Littleton got most of the minutes off the bench, with Staley mixing and matching lineups, plus substituting around media timeouts, to get players rest. It’s not totally unexpected: South Carolina won it all in 2017 with a seven-player rotation,

Staley wants to get Eniya Russell involved more, but when Ruseell played in the first half against Mercer, Mercer made a run. It wasn’t necessarily Russell’s fault, but it wasn’t working so it went away. With the long break between the second and third rounds, Staley may try to get Russell on the court again. She said the real challenge has been for Olivia Thompson and Elysa Wesolek, who are getting almost no work in practice.

“You look at Olivia Thompson and Elysa Wesolek, their role was different in the regular season than the postseason,” Staley said. “We lost LeLe (Grissett), so we have to get (Destiny Littleton, Laeticia Amiher, and Eniya Russell) up to speed with getting them reps because we want to play a certain type of basketball, so you might not even get any reps. That’s going to be your role, and they embraced it. I told E, you have to be ready. If we get any kind of foul trouble in the post, you have to be ready for that. Until then you may have to stand on the sideline and cheer.”

Wesolek remains, even without practice, the Gamecocks’ fourth big. If anyone in front of her gets in foul trouble, she has to play, which happened at the end of the first half against Mercer.

3. Henny and Cooke

South Carolina’s backcourt hasn’t quite gotten going in San Antonio. Cooke is averaging 11.5 points on 36% shooting and Henderson is scoring 6.0 points on 26% shooting. Neither has made a three-pointer. They are contributing in other ways: Henderson played strong defense against Oregon State and Cooke is averaging 4.0 rebounds in the tournament. Still, the Gamecocks need their explosive guards to play more like they did in Greenville, where they made the SEC all-tournament team, if they want to make the Final Four, especially with a potential date with high-powered Maryland in the Elite Eight.

4. Friend and Foe

Staley will be facing a close friend and mentor Sunday in Georgia Tech coach Nell Fortner. Fortner was Staley’s coach with Team USA for the 2000 Olympics, and an assistant on the 1996 team that essentially established modern American Olympic basketball. They were player and coach then, but established the relationship that would carry on as colleagues.

“I always told her she would be a great coach, and her answer was no way,” Fortner said. “When she took that Temple job I was really surprised but I was super happy.”

Fortner remembered how competitive Staley was as a player, not just at basketball but everything (Staley’s competitiveness at card games is Olympic team legend), but the memory that stood out most wasn’t about competition. Fortner was sitting alone on the team bus following her first game as the head coach, an 89-75 win over eventual fourth-place South Korea.

“She got on the bus, probably the first player on the bus, and she patted me on the back and said, ‘Coach, good job today,’” Fortner said. “It really went a long way with me.”

Staley said that she and Fortner will “forever have a bond” as a result of their time with Team USA.

“When I see Nell I always talk to her. When I see her do well I send her a text message,” she said. “We share in being stewards of the game, we share in being not just for this generation of players but for the next generation of players and coaches.”

Staley was asked what she remembered most about playing for Fortner, and she said it was Fortner’s positive attitude. Staley did reveal a tell Fortner has.

“She has a way of being positive no matter how frustrated she gets. When she’s frustrated she runs her hand through her hair,” Staley said, laughing as she mimed brushing back hair over her ear. “We knew that’s the most frustrated outburst she’ll have.”

Fortner and Staley have coached against each other before. The end of Fortner’s tenure at Auburn overlapped with the beginning of Staley’s time at South Carolina. Fortner got the better of Staley during that time, going 4-3.

5. Scouting the Yellow Jackets

Surprisingly, the Gamecocks and Yellow Jackets have never met in women’s basketball.

Georgia Tech is playing in the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history, and has never reached the Elite Eight. In 2012 Georgia Tech lost in the Sweet 16 to eventual national champion Baylor.

South Carolina is in its seventh consecutive Sweet 16 and 11th overall. South Carolina is 4-6 in the Sweet 16, and 3-4 under Dawn Staley, with wins in 2002, 2015, 2017, and 2018.

Guard Lotta-Maj Lahtinen leads the Yellow Jackets in scoring at 14.8 points, but the matchup to watch is in the paint. The Yellow Jackets have a formidable front line with 6-4 Lorela Cubaj and 6-5 Nerea Hermosa. Fortner said Cubaj “has a future in the WNBA,” and she averaged 12.4 points and 11.7 rebounds this season. Cubaj is averaging 17.5 points and 11.0 rebounds in the tournament and has played all but four minutes.

Boston and Cubaj may not be matched up against each other - Hermosa is listed as Georgia Tech’s center - but fouls could be an important factor. Boston got Oregon State center Taylor Jones in early foul trouble and made her a non-factor. If Cubaj or Boston gets in foul trouble it would be a big blow to what each team wants to do.

The Ws

Who: #1 South Carolina vs #5 Georgia Tech

When: Sunday, March 28, 1:00 pm eastern

Where: Alamodome (South/Court 2), San Antonio, Texas

Watch: ABC