South Carolina women's basketball knows it needs to match North Carolina's physicality
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Let’s get physical. That’s the message the Gamecocks have a head of their second round game against North Carolina.
On November 30, South Carolina earned a come-from-behind 65-58 victory over North Carolina in Chapel Hill. North Carolina controlled the game early and led by 11 early in the second quarter.
South Carolina battled back to take the lead in the third quarter, but the Gamecocks agree now that they weren’t ready for the Tar Heels’ physicality.
“They were physical, they were really aggressive, and they came out swinging first,” Te-Hina Paopao said. “That took us a while to adjust.”
“Their physicality! I think we have to definitely match their energy,” Bree Hall said. “Especially because it was one of the first few games of the season we didn’t know what to expect.”
And that’s from the guards.
Hall finished with a team-high 15 points and Paopao contributed 14 as both players hit three shots from behind the arc.
Usually, it is other teams marveling at the Gamecocks’ physicality. It has been the backbone of the program for almost as long as Dawn Staley has been the coach. In early seasons they had to be more physical because they were undersized. Now they are bigger than almost every opponent but still just as physical.
The Tar Heels are a bit like those early Gamecock teams. They aren’t very big and they don’t have much depth, but they still try to be the more physical team in every game.
South Carolina’s coaches know it. The programs are familiar with each other. They played in the 2022 NCAA Tournament and scrimmaged against each other in 2021 and 2022. But being told how physical the game would be and experiencing it are two different things.
“100%. Coach told us they were gonna be physical, but you can say whatever until you’re out there and it’s like, wow, these are very physical women,” Kitts said. “So we just have to match their physicality and energy.”
Once South Carolina adjusted, the Gamecocks outscored North Carolina by six in the second quarter and by nine in the pivotal third quarter. If South Carolina is ready from the start it is a good omen.
“They started out the game really physical. They are a really physical team, they’ve got some physical players,” Kamilla Cardoso said. “We weren’t really prepared for the physicality and now we are. We’ve got to be physical without fouling, hit them high, limit their production.”
Not fouling is key because the Gamecocks battled foul trouble in the first game. Cardoso fouled out, Ashlyn Watkins had four fouls, and Kitts had two early fouls that limited her playing time to less than 20 minutes.
If South Carolina can adjust, the Gamecocks should advance to Albany for the Sweet Sixteen.
