South Carolina women's basketball: Five Things to Watch - NC Central

South Carolina hosts NC Central on Sunday, the last game before the exam break. Here are five things to watch for.

1. Bench production

Before the Louisville game, Dawn Staley said she would have to force the bench to become more productive, no matter what. That didn’t happen against the Cardinals. 

South Carolina got just four points and four rebounds from the bench. Staley didn’t make a single substitution in the first or fourth quarters. Maddy McDaniel and Adhel Tac played five and three minutes, respectively, all in the first half. Ayla McDowell played five minutes in the second quarter and four minutes in the third quarter. Maryam Dauda did not play at all.

The tight score played a role in Staley’s reluctance to substitute. Against a lesser opponent, look for her to go to the bench early and often to try to force the reserves to become more reliable.

2. Okot-Okot

Madina Okot is tied with Oklahoma’s Raegan Beers for the most double-doubles in the country with seven (both in nine games). Both players play on Sunday, so they have a chance to keep pace with each other. 

Okot is averaging 11.3 rebounds per game, tied for ninth in the country. She is also averaging 15.3 points, which would make her the first Gamecock since Aliyah Boston in her 2022 Player of the Year season to average a double-double. 

Boston (twice), A’ja Wilson (once), and Alaina Coates (twice) are the only Gamecocks since 1993 to average double-doubles. Okot committed to South Carolina in part because of the Gamecocks’ history of putting posts in the WNBA. That list has two number-one picks and a number-two pick.

The biggest challenge to Okot’s eighth double-double might be playing time. Against Grand Canyon, she only had four rebounds in part because she only played 17 minutes.

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3. Be efficient

With all due respect to NC Central, Sunday’s game isn’t about the Eagles. It’s about South Carolina correcting some issues after back-to-back two-point games.

That means defense, rebounding, and shooting a high percentage. Joyce Edwards shot under 44% in the last two games, and Ta’Niya Latson shot 33%. The Gamecocks would like to see them hit close to 50% on Sunday. 

Don’t give up a lead. Rebound the ball. Don’t allow open shots. Do all of those little things, and Staley will be happy going into the exam break.

4. Will Agot Makeer play?

Makeer did not make the trip to Louisville because she was in concussion protocol. Because of the travel and quick turnaround between Thursday’s game and Sunday, South Carolina did not have media availability to preview NC Central.

Thus, there is no update on Makeer. We’ll find out her status when we see whether she is in uniform on Sunday morning.

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5. Scouting the Eagles

Actual conversation in Louisville: “Where is NC Central located?” “I think Greensboro? Or maybe Raleigh?” “So somewhere in central North Carolina?” “Yeah!”

Actually, and I should have remembered because I’ve been there, NC Central is in Durham and has a lovely campus that is on the National Register of Historic Places.

But that’s the struggle for a team that has been Division I for less than 20 years and is annually one of the worst teams in the country. This season, the Eagles are 316th in the NET. They have a win over UNC Asheville and only lost 68-65 at Wake Forest.

6-0 senior Morgan Callahan leads the Eagles in scoring (9.5) and rebounding (6.8). 5-11 senior Aniya Finger (9.1 points, 5.9 rebounds) is right behind. Both had double-doubles in the win over UNC Asheville. Against Wake Forest, Callahan had 19 points and 12 rebounds, both game highs.

The Ws

Who: #3 South Carolina (8-1) vs NC Central (1-7)
When: Noon ET, Sunday, December 7
Where: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, SC
Watch: SEC Network

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