South Carolina women's basketball: Five Things to Watch - Penn State

South Carolina returns from the exam break to host Penn State on Sunday. Here are five things to watch for.

1. Who is available?

Dawn Staley played it coy, only saying, “We’ll see” if all 10 players are available. 

Everyone except Madina Okot was at the portion of practice open to the media on Friday. Agot Makeer, who missed the last two games while in concussion protocol, was at practice, but Staley said they are limiting what she does.

If there is anyone who can’t play on Sunday, those two would be the most likely candidates.

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2. Bench production

Regardless of who is available, Staley wants to force-feed the bench to get more production.

She also said that before the Louisville game, but the tight score forced her to ride with the starters. And then against NC Central, South Carolina was down to seven players, so there wasn’t a bench to force feed.

With three games before the Christmas break, it’s now or never.

“It’s really important,” Staley said. “Really important to get them minutes, just experience, just familiarity. Our practice guys, our Highlighters do a really good job of giving them some experience, but there’s nothing compared to game experience. Nothing compared to playing in Colonial Life Arena, playing on the road, and hearing everything that comes with that. We’re gonna be a lot more intentional about getting them in the game, so they can help us down the stretch.”

3. Battle of the Bigs

If Okot is unable to play, it would deprive everyone of a chance to see two of the top post players in the country face off. 

6-6 Okot is averaging 14.8 points and 11.1 rebounds this season. Nationally, she ranks in the top 20 in field goal percentage, hitting 60.95% of her shots. She is top 10 in rebounds per game, and her seven double-doubles trail only Raegan Beers, who has eight in one more game.

Penn State’s 6-6 Gracie Merkle leads the nation in field goal percentage, hitting 74.59% of her shots. She averages 22.3 points per game, 10th in the country, and 8.0 rebounds. Earlier this season, Merkle had 39 points on 19-23 shooting against Princeton.

Merkle is like a taller version of Iowa State’s Audi Crooks. She doesn’t move especially well or rebound much out of her zone. But she has elite footwork and hands, and if she catches the ball near the basket, she doesn’t miss.

Last season, South Carolina held Crooks to 13 points and nine rebounds on 5-11 shooting by fronting her and denying entry passes. With or without Okot, expect similar tactics against Merkle.

“It’s effort. Play in front, help side,” Joyce Edwards said. “Obviously, it’s not a one-man job, it’s a team job. That’s what we’re going to do.”

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4. Turnovers

Penn State averages 20.1 turnovers per game, tied for 308th in the country. The Nittany Lions even trail Grand Canyon and Queens, who average an even 20.0 turnovers, and have the second-worst turnover average South Carolina has faced so far this season (NC Central averages 24.3).

That’s a bad omen for Penn State because South Carolina is second in the nation in fast-break points (24.5) and averages 20.7 points per game off turnovers

5. Scouting the Nittany Lions

Defensively, Penn State likes to trap and then fall into a 2-3 zone. The goal is to create as many possessions as possible. 

While Merkle is the offensive centerpiece, Penn State also has an explosive point guard in Rutgers transfer Kiyomi McMiller. McMiller averages 19.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists, although she also commits 4.2 turnovers per game.

Moriah Murray and Tea Cleante are each shooting over 40% from three to help space the floor for Merkle and McMiller.

“They’ve got a big that creates a lot of space, very efficient in the paint,” Staley said. “They’ve got a dynamic point guard who can really fill up a stat sheet and put some points on the scoreboard. They’ve got everybody else that can actually space the floor, shoot some threes. Not balance when it comes to their top two, but balance as far as scoring, where everybody’s a scoring threat. They just play to their strength, which is a great quality. “

She doesn’t play a ton, but freshman guard Shayla Smith has an interesting claim to fame: she broke Dawn Staley’s record as the youngest Philadelphia high school player to score 1,000 points. She also wears a headscarf when she plays for religious reasons.

The Ws

Who: #3 South Carolina (9-1) vs Penn State (6-3)
When: 3:30 ET, Sunday, December 14
Where: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, SC 
Watch: ESPN

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