South Carolina women's basketball: Five Things to Watch - Cal Poly
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1. Point guard
Kierra Fletcher and Raven Johnson had their moments against Stanford. They each hit some key baskets and Johnson, in particular, had a couple of nice passes to set up layups that didn’t fall. But the bottom line is that the Cardinal dared the Gamecock point guards to beat them and they couldn’t do it until Dawn Staley went to Zia Cooke and Bree Hall as her backcourt.
After the game, Staley stressed how little experience Fletcher and Johnson have, in addition to the lingering effects of their injuries. Even the biggest pessimist would agree they are a work in progress.
Incremental progress is acceptable. That’s what Staley will be looking for Tuesday night. Can Fletcher and Johnson get more comfortable, more productive, and more confident?
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2. Start fast
Cal Poly’s chances of upsetting South Carolina fall somewhere between slim and none. It’s a busy eleven days for South Carolina, though, with four games, including a mentally and physically exhausting overtime game, a pair of cross-country flights, Thanksgiving, and just one of those games at home next Sunday.
Therefore, it would be nice to take care of business early. The goal is to get a big first-half lead, work on some things, get some more experience for the point guards, and then let the young players finish things off.
3. Big Game Breezy
We need to take one more time to acknowledge Hall’s outstanding game against Stanford. Hall was expected to take over LeLe Grissett’s role as Brea Beal’s backup, but then Hall missed the season-opener with an illness and played just seven minutes against Maryland. It was fair to wonder if maybe Hall had not progressed as much as expected, or if she had been passed by freshmen Talaysia Cooper and Ashlyn Watkins.
Nevermind. Against Stanford, Hall provided her usual defensive spark off the bench and aggressively got to the rim. But she also played smart and under control, two things she wasn’t known for last season. Hall’s growth was on display at the end of overtime when she not only got open so Aliyah Boston could pass her the ball, but she calmly sank the three. Her 12 points were a career-high, and Hall proved to Staley she can be counted on in close games.
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4. Who?
In order to make the trip out west to play Stanford work financially, Staley needed to pair Stanford with another game. She’d hoped for another major conference opponent (for example in 2024 South Carolina will play Stanford and UCLA), but couldn’t find an opponent to make that work. Cal Poly and coach Shanele Stires, a former ABL and WNBA player like Staley, stepped in to make the trip work.
The Mustangs, who also lost at Stanford 80-43 last week, will be little more than sacrificial lambs for the Gamecocks. But national champions don’t usually travel to San Luis Obispo (population: 47,500; the city website has instructions on how to use the crosswalks), so Cal Poly is treating the game like a party. They are asking fans for a whiteout and promoting the game as a chance to see legends Dawn Staley and Aliyah Boston.
It’s a charming reminder that what Gamecock fans take for granted – watching one of the country’s elite programs – is a special occasion in many places.
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5. Scouting the Mustangs
Stires is the Mustangs’ first new coach in a quarter century. Faith Mimnaugh coached the Mustangs for 25 years before retiring following last season. In 2013, Mimnaugh led the Mustangs to their only NCAA tournament appearance.
Through four games, Julia Nielacna is the Mustangs’ leading scorer, coming off the bench for 9.0 points per game. Niki Kovacikova is a good shooter and has hit 6-11 threes this season. Natalia Ackerman is the leading rebounder at 5.8 boards per game. Taylor Wu stands out on the box score. She has a pretty spectacular 0:11 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The best idea of what to expect probably comes from Cal Poly’s game against Stanford. Kovacikova had 11 points in that game and was 3-3 from three. Cal Poly was outshot 50% to 30% and outrebounded 44-23. The Mustangs had just five assists and 20 turnovers,
The Ws
Who: #1 South Carolina (4-0) at Cal Poly (2-2)
When: 8:00 pm ET, Tuesday, November 22
Where: Mott Athletics Center, San Luis Obispo, CA
Watch: ESPN+
