South Carolina will look to bounce back from the loss to UConn and maintain its perfect conference record against Missouri.
1. Moving on from UConn
Geno Auriemma commented after Monday’s game that coaches schedule games like that to learn about their teams, to find their weak points. After a couple of days to reflect, Dawn Staley knows South Carolina’s weak point.
“It’s everything that we did on the offensive end,” Staley said. “We didn’t make them pay offensively, time and time again. Even when we built our little lead, we were up four with the ball, and we just couldn’t get a really good look at the basket.”
Staley said she’d “take our defense against UConn any day of the week,” but in that loss and the loss to NC State inefficient offense let the Gamecocks down. Missed layups (South Carolina was 18-45 on layups against UConn), missed free throws, and empty possessions from turnovers or bad shots.
South Carolina has three weeks to clean up those issues before postseason play begins.
2. No rest for the weary
South Carolina is in the middle of three games in seven days, and coming off the exhausting overtime game Monday, fatigue is a concern. Brea Beal played all 45 minutes Monday, and Aliyah Boston played 43 minutes, while Destanni Henderson(38) and Zia Cooke (37) got the “light” minutes.
UConn only got one day between games and played Seton Hall Wednesday night. The Huskies got off to a slow start, trailing at halftime before pulling away in the fourth quarter. South Carolina got an extra day between games. They took Tuesday off and returned to practice Wednesday.
Staley would certainly like a fast start against Missouri so that she could lean on the bench in the second half. She liked the response she got in practice Wednesday.
“I don’t like losing, but I like lessons that they can learn from only losing,” Staley said. “If you try to talk about some of the stuff we’re talking about today when we’re winning, it goes in one ear and out the other. Here is an opportunity for us to get better.”
3. More Watch List Fun
As expected, last Friday Aliyah Boston was named to the Lisa Leslie Award top ten. Boston is the reigning winner of the award, given to the nation’s best center. Zia Cooke and Destanni Henderson were named to the Dawn Staley Award Watch list, which recognizes ball handling, scoring, ability to distribute the basketball and will to win.
Boston and Cooke were also named to the Naismith Trophy Midseason team, one of the three national player of the year awards. Thirty players were named to the list, which will be pared down to 10 semifinalists in early March. They were also named to the Wooden Award late season top 20. The Wade Award will release its list later in the season. Three of South Carolina’s 2021 signees were named to the Naismith High School Girls semifinal list.
4. I know you!
Maybe it’s just me, but I find it amusing given all the animosity that once existed between the two programs that South Carolina has had two players transfer to Missouri. They are point guard Haley Troup, who left South Carolina prior to her freshman season, but after a team trip to Japan, and forward LaDazhia Williams. Who transferred after two quiet seasons. Both are now starting for Missouri.
Troup is averaging 7.0 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.1 rebounds. Williams, on the other hand, has had a breakthrough season. Her talent was never in question at South Carolina, but injuries kept the top-50 recruit from ever carving out a role in the rotation. Williams is averaging a team-high 14.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and team-high 1.4 blocks. After scoring in double figures just once at South Carolina, she has reached that marked in all but one game this season.
5. Scouting the Tigers
Missouri’s record may not be impressive, but the Tigers are one of the prime examples of the SEC’s depth. All but one of Missouri’s six conference losses have been by single digits. If you exclude the 15-point loss to Alabama at the beginning of January, Missouri’s average loss has been by just four points, and it includes games against Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Arkansas twice.
The Tigers’ surge in conference play comes as their offense has excelled. In conference games, the Tigers are fourth in scoring offense (71.6 points) and second in shooting percentage (47.1%) behind Tennessee. Defensively, they still play the same pesky style that has always annoyed the Gamecocks.
“They’re gritty,” Staley said. “They know where they want their shots to come from. Their motion offense is pretty good, their cutting. They force you to take outside shots with their sagging. They press a little bit to shave some time off the shot clock.”
The Ws
Who: #1 South Carolina (15-2, 10-0) vs Missouri (7-7, 3-6)
When: Thursday, February 11, 7:00 pm
Where: Colonial Life Arena
Watch: SEC Network
