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

South Carolina hosts Queens on Sunday as the final tune-up before facing three consecutive power conference foes. Here’s what to watch for.

1. Looking ahead, sort of

With all due respect to Winthrop and Queens, the two games this week are supposed to serve as glorified practices for South Carolina to prepare for next week’s Players Era Championship in Las Vegas. 

That’s not to say Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks are looking past these games, but they are taking a big-picture view that she hopes will prepare the Gamecocks for success the rest of the season.

Staley adjusted the practice schedule. Instead of the traditional day off after a game, South Carolina practiced on Thursday to simulate next week’s Las Vegas games

“This team is trying to find their identity,” Staley said after the Winthrop game. “I do think playing in the USC game really was taxing, just mentally, physically. But we had two pretty good days of practice to get ready for this game. And then, we’ll practice again tomorrow, just to get them moving a little bit. We got to try to simulate some of what playing back-to-back next week and see how their bodies feel. But I’m proud of this team. This team hasn’t really reached its potential yet. I think we’re getting a little bit closer to finding our identity, and it’s coming. It’s just not there yet.”

2. Tessa’s alright

Wednesday night, for the first time this season, Tessa Johnson did not score in double figures. She also only had one rebound, just the second time she hasn’t had at least four.

Johnson was inconsistent during her first two seasons, and correcting that was one of her primary goals for this season. Was an old bugaboo showing up again? Staley doesn’t think so.

 “I think Tessa‘s stat line doesn’t really show her playing the right way,” she said. “She’s not pressing. And, obviously, we want her to shoot a little bit more than what she’s shooting. But she’s not forcing things. She’s playing really good basketball.”

To Staley’s point, Johnson still scored nine points and shot 3-7 from three. 

There’s only one basketball and only 40 minutes in a game. When a team has three players score at least 20 points, it’s going to cut into someone else’s production. That happened to be Johnson.

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3. Bench progress

South Carolina’s bench played a paltry 28 minutes against Southern Cal. Staley stressed that playing time had more to do with what was working (the starters) than what wasn’t, but the Gamecocks still need more bench production.

The production against Winthrop was a good start. Agot Makeer had 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals. She continues to look like a star in the making.

Adhel Tac had six points and five rebounds. Ayla McDowell had seven points and four rebounds and looked comfortable as the de facto forward in a four-guard lineup. 

“I was really proud of our young players, who are giving it what they’ve got,” Staley said. “Ayla‘s coming along. Ayla’s doing the intangible things. She knows what we want, and she plays to that. And I like that.”

But the most important development is…

4. Here she comes to save the day

Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but getting Maddy “Mouse” McDaniel, who missed the last four games due to injury and suspension, back is huge.

In her absence, South Carolina has played backup point guard by committee, using Ta’Niya Latson, Tessa Johnson, and Agot Makeer. But mostly, Raven Johnson has logged heavy minutes. Johnson played 38 minutes against Southern Cal, which is far from ideal.

McDaniel isn’t just another able body, however. She’s skilled and productive. Prior to being sidelined, McDaniel was the first player off the bench. South Carolina will definitely need her in Las Vegas, so Sunday’s game is a valuable opportunity to get back up to game speed.

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5. Scouting the Royals

The Gamecocks and Royals have met once before, a 103-55 Gamecock win in 1979. That game probably won’t have much influence on Sunday’s action.

Queens only moved up to Division I in 2022. The Royals finished last in the A-SUN in their first two seasons and next-to-last last season. In this year’s preseason poll, the Royals were picked to finish last by the media and next-to-last by the coaches. They did not place a player on the preseason all-conference team.

South Carolina and Queens share a common opponent: Winthrop. South Carolina beat Winthrop 106-56, while Winthrop beat Queens 75-69 in Rock Hill. (If you subscribe to transitive wins, that makes South Carolina 56 points better than Queens.)

Queens comes into the game off a confidence-building win at SC State. 6-1 Forward Brenae Jones-Grant had 28 points and seven rebounds in the 76-65 win.

Jones-Grant averages 13.8 points and 9.0 rebounds this season to lead Queens. 6-1 guard Ana Barreto is right behind, averaging 13.2 points. Barreto has the green light to shoot; she takes nearly nine three-pointers per game and hits a solid 36%.

The Ws

Who: #2 South Carolina (5-0) vs Queens (3-2)
When: 2:00 ET, Sunday, November 23
Where: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, SC
Watch: SEC Network+

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