South Carolina women's basketball: Five Things to Watch - Presbyterian
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1. Turnovers
South Carolina committed a season-high 24 turnovers in the SEC quarterfinals against Texas A&M, turning what should have been a blowout into a close battle. Afterward, players admitted the cause of all the turnovers was a lack of focus.
It would probably take a lot more than 24 turnovers for the Gamecocks to be upset by the Blue Hose, so that isn’t a concern (South Carolina turned it over just eight times when they met in December). Still, the number of turnovers will give a good indication of the Gamecocks’ mentality entering the NCAA Tournament.
2. Rebound!
South Carolina uncharacteristically struggled on the glass in the SEC Tournament. Texas A&M grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and LSU grabbed 17 offensive rebounds as part of a 44-37 rebounding advantage.
The problem wasn’t a failure to block out as much as it was a failure to finish the play. There’s no statistic for it, but according to the eye test, an inordinate number of rebounds hit the floor and were chased down by the Aggies or Tigers.
That suggests that the Gamecocks were being out-hustled. Ideally, after four days off after the tournament, they will have fresh legs and be more assertive.
“Got to fine-tune some things that haven’t been working for us probably over the past couple weeks, so hopefully the fact that we got a little bit of rest and we ramp back up, that we can get off to a good start,” Dawn Staley said.
3. No Kamilla
Against Presbyterian, Kamilla Cardoso will serve her suspension fro being ejected for fighting against LSU. Cardoso practiced with the team on Thursday, but she can’t be with the team during the game on Friday. She will probably watch the game from the locker room (which includes a lounge and film room, so she’ll be pretty comfortable).
Staley described how she addressed the fallout of the fight with her players and shed some light on behind-the-scenes discussions.
“We talked about it immediately. I don’t let things linger. You hit it, and then you move on. You talk to each and every player. I didn’t talk to them individually. Talked to them as a team and went through why it happened and what we need to do differently if presented with that circumstance. And then obviously I talked to everybody. The commissioner, Tiffany Daniels, I talked to Lisa Mattingly. I talked to all of them. It does have the appearance of just Kamilla takes the fall for it. Did she deserve it? Yes. She deserved to be disqualified. No doubt about it. But there were some other parties that should have been penalized. I don’t know penalized to the point of disqualification, but definitely ejection for that particular game. I know how they came — well, they assessed it, and if they had to do our all over again I do think they would come up with something different. But it leaves Kamilla hanging.”
4. North Carolina vs Michigan State
The eight-nine game presents an interesting contrast in styles.
#8 North Carolina averages 68.9 points and tries to grind out games with a strong defense and just enough scoring punch to win. The Tar Heels rely almost entirely on their starting lineup.
#9 Michigan State averages 83.7 points (sixth in the nation) and 9.2 threes per game. The Spartans spread the floor to get open shots and get almost 26 points per game off the bench (15 in the country)
“I think they found their niche with changing up defenses and using their size and length. They have three players that they’ve really counted on a lot on the offensive end consistently,” siad Michigan State coach Robyn Fralick. “We’ve got to find ways to score. They’ve really grinded out some wins.”
“They’re joyful in how they compete. They can really spread the floor. She’s got really good pieces. They connect well. I’m not sure that all of them would be as great on other teams, but together they play really well. It’s a team that can put up a lot of the points,” said North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart. “I think their offense is so good (that) you give a lot of credit to their offense. It’s a two-way team.”
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5. Scouting the Blue Hose
“It’s important for us to experience some back-to-back games because of the way our tournament sits. … We want to be a March team, that’s why we wanted to play South Carolina. We want to be in this environment. We want to be an NCAA Tournament team. This is the kind of matchup that coming out of the Big South we can anticipate.”
That’s what Presbyterian coach Alaura Sharp said after South Carolina beat the Blue Hose in December. She’s looking pretty smart right now.
Presbyterian won the Big South tournament despite being a five seed and in its first NCAA Tournament game in its first NCAA Tournament appearance. And they find themselves back in Columbia, playing the Gamecocks.
“I think there’s an advantage to already playing South Carolina,” Sharp said on Friday. “Probably for them and us, honestly, because we can make adjustments and we can see what they adjusted and did and what bothered us and what bothered them. And you can put together a good game plan. Tomorrow comes down to what team’s grown the most and what team wants it the most. Looking forward to the challenge, honestly.”
Staley said the Blue Hose look better now than they did in December.
“They look confident. Any time you play somebody once, the second time around you feel much better,” Staley said. “I think the novelty has worn off of us playing each other. So, I mean, I’m excited just to get things started. Excited that they advanced because they brought a lot of fans in Colonial Life Arena last night. I mean, I had a chance to meet with them as well, prior to their game. I think it was.”
Tilda Sjökvist led Presbyterian in December with 15 points. In the First Four, Mara Neira was the star with 14 points and six rebounds, both team highs.
The Ws
Who: #8 North Carolina (19-12, 11-7 ACC) vs #9 Michigan State (22-8, 12-6 Big Ten)
When: 11:30 ET, Friday, March 22
Where: Colonial Life Arena
Watch: ESPN2
Who: #1 South Carolina (32-0, 16-0 SEC) vs #16 Presbyterian (21-14, 8-8 Big South)
When: 2:00 ET, Friday, March 22
Where: Colonial Life Arena
Watch: ESPN
There is a sendoff for the Gamecocks at the team hotel on Friday morning. The team is staying at the Marriott Columbia at 1200 Hampton Street. The sendoff is at 11:10 AM
