South Carolina women's basketball: Bree Hall is ready to lead the Gamecocks to a championship
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The month of March has been good to Bree Hall. As a freshman, she played in all nine of South Carolina’s postseason games en route to winning a national championship.
Last season she not only played in every game again, but Hall tied for the team scoring lead with 10 points in the Sweet 16 and hit game-clinching threes in the SEC Championship game and the Elite Eight.
Like the rest of her teammates, Hall shared the bitter taste of the Final Four loss to Iowa. Even worse, after emerging as one of South Carolina’s most reliable three-point shooters, she went 1-4 as Iowa dared her to shoot.
Hall sat in the locker room after the game, patiently answering questions, and swore that as one of the Gamecocks’ new leaders, she wouldn’t let it happen again.
It hasn’t been easy. Through five games, Hall was averaging just 7.4 points and shooting a dismal 31% and 23% from three.
Looking back, Hall says “I personally didn’t really think I had a role on the team.”
With the help of a sports psychologist, Hall worked through it. She hit 3-4 from three in three straight games and didn’t just rediscover her shooting touch, Hall found her role.
“I kind of found my voice and realized when I can use it and how to talk to people and things of that nature,” Hall said. “And I think it’s just been evolving in a good way. I just like to see that. My teammates trust me and see me as a leader.”
Hall has become South Carolina’s glue player. She is the only person on the team who started all 32 games and draws the assignment of guarding the opponent’s best player. Hall averages a modest 9.7 points, but they always seem to be important, leading to the nickname “Big Shot Breezy.”
In two of the biggest games of the season, Hall hit the go-ahead three in the first game against LSU and a pair of tough baskets after the Tigers pulled within one point in the second game. She has drawn raves from her teammates for sacrificing more shots to focus on her defensive assignments.
She’s also solidified her voice as a leader, mentoring freshman Tessa Johnson, who had her own breakout weekend in Greenville.
“She asks me questions here or there about what she should do on defense and stuff like that,” said Hall, who says she sees some of herself in Johnson. “She’s getting really confident.”
“She’s been everything,” Johnson said. “She not only tells me what I can do, but she tells me what I need to work on. She’s always encouraging and I’m learning off her She’s not afraid to push me even when it’s something I don’t want to hear.”
Now comes the most important part of this season: the NCAA Tournament. Hall said the team’s mentality hasn’t changed much this year because they know from three straight Final Fours what it will take to advance again. The difference is her sense of ownership.
“It’s definitely about business, definitely very exciting,” Hall said. “Even more exciting because I feel like I’m more a part of the goal this year since the Freshies have left.”
South Carolina opens the NCAA Tournament on Friday at approximately 2:00 ET against either Presbyterian or Sacred Heart.
