South Carolina women's basketball: Five Things to Watch vs. Bowling Green

South Carolina women’s basketball closes out the first week of the season by hosting Bowling Green on Friday night. Here’s what to watch for.

1. Let the frontcourt cook

Joyce Edwards and Madina Okot had relatively quiet performances against Grand Canyon. Edwards had 13 points and five rebounds, while Okot had 12 points and four rebounds, although she also drew seven fouls. Both played fine, and perhaps it was just first-game jitters.

Neither exactly dominated, which was understandable to a degree. Ta’Niya Latson and Tessa Johnson did dominate and combined for 39 of South Carolina’s 94 points. It’s asking a lot for everybody to score 20 points.

“Whoever’s got the hot streak has got the hot streak,” Edwards said. “We aren’t trying to force anything too much. It’s a good sign.”

But let’s be greedy. With so many questions about the team’s developing chemistry, it would be nice to see the front court take over on Friday night, just to prove it can. Then maybe everyone can score 20 against Clemson next week.

2. Rebounding

Dawn Staley was plenty concerned about the defensive effort on Monday. She saw progress during the week, saying they had two really good days of practice.

“It looked good,” she said. “There’s progress. We just have to be more intentional about what we want and what we don’t want. We have to make our players aware of what’s happening out there and then hold them accountable.”

Another concern was rebounding. South Carolina outrebounded Grand Canyon 38-31, but by Gamecock standards, that is disappointing. 

The focus goes back to Edwards and Okot. Edwards averaged 5.0 rebounds last season, but without Chloe Kitts, she needs to rebound more this season. Okot averaged 9.6 rebounds last season at Mississippi State. South Carolina brought the 6-6 Okot in to dominate the paint, not grab four rebounds.

Raven Johnson led South Carolina with eight rebounds. She rebounds well for a point guard, but she isn’t going to grab eight boards every game. It was also encouraging to see Tessa Johnson with five rebounds and Adhel Tac with six in just 15 minutes.

One game is not a sufficient sample size to draw any conclusion (especially because box scores get wonky in blowouts), but it would be nice to put the concern to rest.

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3. Threes

South Carolina shot 9-19 from three against Grand Canyon, a nifty 47.4%, but Staley wants more.

Appearing on Carolina Calls Thursday night, Staley said the goal against Bowling Green is to make 10 threes.

Fittingly, the fan giveaway Friday night is three-point signs, so the FAMs can help keep count during the game.

4. Mouse Trapped

Sophomore Maddy McDaniel is not expected to play against Bowling Green. McDaniel left the game against Grand Canyon with 4:04 left in the first half after she banged knees with a Grand Canyon player who was setting a screen. She crumpled to the court and stayed down for a couple of minutes before being helped to the locker room by Staley and trainer Craig Oates.

On Thursday, McDaniel was moving around at practice, riding the bike and shooting off to the side, but she did not practice.

“I doubt (she’ll play),” Staley said. “You’ve got to have some prep day.”

With McDaniel out, the backup point guard will be “a little bit of everybody.”

“A little bit of Tessa, a little bit of Agot (Makeer), a little bit of Ta’Niya,” Staley said. “Probably just a lot of our guards being on the floor. They all have taken their turns playing the point.”

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5. Scouting the Falcons

Reunion week continues as the Gamecocks welcome Bowling Green coach Fred Chmiel back to Columbia. Chmiel was a Gamecock assistant coach from 2015 to 2023, winning two national championships and making four Final Fours.

Chmiel has led the Falcons to winning records in his first two seasons and returns nine players from last season, unusual stability, especially for a mid-major.

Junior Paige Kohler was named Preseason All-MAC and averaged 13.6 points and 4.6 rebounds last season. Johnea Donahue was MAC All-Freshman last season and All-Defensive Team after averaging 2.5 steals.

In Bowling Green’s season-opening 82-67 win at Louisiana, Kohler had 18 points and went 12-14 from the line. Lauren Gerken had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Taya Ellis added 11 points.

Unlike the uncertainty ahead of facing Winston Gandy, Staley knows what to expect from Chmiel’s Falcons.

“Offensively, he’s going to drive it down our throats,” Staley said. “He’s going to force us to play good, disciplined defense, which is something that we need. They can shoot the ball, really balanced. I see his impact.”

Bowling Green might be a good opponent for Edwards to have a big game. Two years ago at Bowling Green, Chloe Kitts scored her then-career-high 21 points on 10-12 shooting. If Edwards can duplicate that performance, the first topic is going to look silly.

But the biggest question regarding Bowling Green is this: Are they bringing Pudge the Cat to Columbia to meet Champ?

The Ws

Who: #2 South Carolina (1-0) vs Bowling Green (1-0)
When: 7:00 ET, Friday, November 7
Where: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, SC
Watch: SEC Network+

🏀 Attention: GamecockCentral is at the game to provide updates. Follow along on the NEW Women’s Basketball Forum (beginning approximately 30 minutes before tip-off). Don’t miss any of the action!