South Carolina women's basketball: Five Things to Watch - Iowa
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1. Not a Second Time
Last second South Carolina rolled to a 36-0 record but was upset by Iowa in the national semifinals. We all know the story and we’re looking to that game for clues about how this year’s rematch might go. Unless you’re South Carolina.
“I haven’t watched last year’s game,” Dawn Staley said. “So the focus is on this team this year.”
Sania Feagin, who did not play in the game last year, also hadn’t watched it. She said there is something bigger than revenge on the line Sunday.
“It’s really all about the national title game,” Feagin said.
2. Come Together
All season the Gamecocks had an easy-going, fun-loving attitude. When Staley called it a “daycare” atmosphere, it seemed like everyone (including Staley) seemed to lean into the description and became louder and goofier.
That has stopped and been replaced with a serious, focused attitude and attention to detail that wasn’t there all season.
“They’re pretty motivated,” Staley said Saturday. “We just had our film session this morning, and they’re all locked in. It wasn’t daycare this morning. I don’t know if it’s just because they just woke up, but they’re locked in.”
Staley also said the players are even taking notes during film sessions.
3. Get Back
South Carolina blew up the semifinal game with a dominant 29-6 third quarter. There was no fiery halftime speech or major adjustments. Instead, Staley simply told the team to relax, play their game, and be themselves.
Clearly, it worked.
“Coach told us that we’re going to make mistakes, it’s just how we react to those mistakes,” Raven Johnson said. “She told us to go in, play our game, play South Carolina basketball. She always says, don’t get too high with the highs or too low with the lows.”
In last season’s Final Four, the Gamecocks didn’t appear to follow that advice. They got rattled early, tried to force things instead of playing their game, and played outside themselves. Will they have a better approach this season?
4. I’m So Tired
After Friday’s win, I asked Tessa Johnson what she planned on doing the rest of the night. She said was going to enjoy the win, but only for a couple of hours.
“I’m going to rest,” she said. “Not gonna lie, I’m tired.”
Everyone is tired at this point, so there isn’t a lot of practice. Both teams have a 50-minute open practice, that is more of an exhibition for fans than an actual practice. They have a real, closed practice earlier in the day, but even that is usually just a walk-through.
“You can’t really do anything,” Staley said. “So it’s more about film sessions and talking to individual players about what we need them to (do), how we need to play and execute.”
Staley confirmed that in 2017 and 2022 they only did a walk-through as well.
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5. Scouting the Hawkeyes
Iowa enters the game with the nation’s best scoring offense (South Carolina is third), but the Hawkeyes are different from the team that pick-and-rolled South Carolina to death last year.
Hannah Stuelke has essentially replaced Monika Czinano, who scored 18 against South Carolina last year, in the lineup. Stuelke scored 23 against UConn and averages 15.1 points and 6.6 rebounds, which is only slightly less than what Czinano averaged, but she is only a slender 6-2 and doesn’t defend well. It will be a tough matchup for her against Kamilla Cardoso, Ashlyn Watkins, and Sania Feagin.
“It’s a matchup that we’ve got to win. Like, we’ve got to win that one. First, you’ve got to run in transition. She gets out, her and (Kate) Martin, they get out. They are determined. It was, I will run for a layup,” Staley said. “We have to make her guard us. She’s going to have to guard not one, not two, not three, four. We’ve got four or five legitimate post players that she’s going to see and have to guard, and they all are different.”
Iowa is going to have to give Stuelke help, but the Hawkeyes don’t have a ton of options.
“One person can’t stop her. There’s no way,” Lisa Bluder said. “I don’t know if two or three can stop her, to be quite honest. So I’m not going to give that up just to one person to have to try to handle that.”
6-3 Sharon Goodman only plays 9.7 minutes per game but hasn’t played over five minutes in a game since January. 6-4 Addi O’Grady plays more, including 15 minutes against UConn, but she has just seven points and six rebound total in the last four games.
And of course there is Caitlin Clark. South Carolina tried to guard her with Raven Johnson last season, going with a smaller, quicker defender to try to get under Clark. She was able to easily shoot over Johnson, so South Carolina probably won’t go that route again.
South Carolina has been tight-lipped with its plan (“The game plan is to win,” was all Johnson said), but look for Bree Hall and Tessa Johnson, longer defenders, to get turns. MiLaysia Fulwiley, who is an aggressive but sometimes undisciplined defender, might also get a turn.
Iowa will likely be without guard Molly Davis on Sunday. Davis hasn’t played in the postseason and Bluder suggested she might only be able to get on the court for a few seconds. Davis shoots over 40% from three and is a good ballhandler who can give Clark a break.
The Ws
Who: #1 South Carolina (37-0, 16-0 SEC) vs #1 Iowa (34-4, 15-3 Big Ten)
When: 3:00 EDT, Sunday, April 7
Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH
Watch: ABC
The team sendoff is at 12:40 EDT at the Hyatt Regency at the Arcade at 420 Superior Avenue.
