South Carolina women's basketball: The 3-2-1 - Clutch players, burning questions, and my favorite play from the last week
South Carolina beat two top-ten opponents last week. Here are the clutch players, burning questions, and my favorite play from an impressive week.
Three Clutch Players
1. Chloe Kitts
Vs Duke: 25 minutes, 21 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals
Vs TCU: 25 minutes, 4 points, 12 rebounds
Kitts was fantastic against Duke. It wasn’t just the numbers, it was how she scored nine of South Carolina’s next 10 points when Duke trimmed the lead to single digits. And then, even though her offense never got going against TCU, Kitts still grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to help the Gamecocks control the glass.
2. Raven Johnson
Vs Duke: 24 minutes, 5 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
Vs TCU: 23 minutes, 11 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, steal
Against Duke, it felt like Johnson was on the verge of breaking out of her slump, and then it happened against TCU. It’s not a coincidence that the Gamecocks had one of their best performances of the season. If Johnson returns to form it eliminates South Carolina’s last lingering early season issue.
3. Te-Hina Paopao
Vs Duke: 25 minutes, 11 points, 2 rebounds, assist, steal, 3-4 3PT
Vs TCU: 25 minutes, 11 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, steal, 1-3 3PT
It was a tough choice between Paopao and MiLaysia Fulwiley, who was dominant against TCU. Ultimately, Paopao should be recognized as the picture of consistency. South Carolina doesn’t always know where its offense is coming from game to game, except for Paopao.
Two Burning Questions
1. How will South Carolina handle the rest of December?
The Gamecocks have a week off for exams, play a couple of guarantee games, have ten days off for Christmas, and then one more buy game to close out the month. As hot as they are right now, they’d probably rather play a few more games, especially against better competition.
The concern is that with time off and easier opponents, South Carolina’s focus might start to wander again, the way it did early in the season.
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2. Are Raven Johnson and MiLaysia Fulwiley out of their slumps, or was it a blip?
Against TCU they reminded everyone how good they are – and how good South Carolina is when they play well. Can they build on their performances over the rest of the month?
One Favorite Play
Do you have to ask? My favorite part of Ashlyn Watkins’ dunk was how it was clear at midcourt she was lining up the dunk, and it didn’t matter that 6-7 Sedona Prince, the nation’s leader in block shots, was chasing her down.
South Carolina needs Watkins to be assertive like that. Dawn Staley said they’ve been prodding Watkins in practice.
“We always kid her that she doesn’t have her legs anymore. She can’t dunk anymore,” Staley said. “She actually was in shootaround today dunking and missing. Then she makes a play like that and I knew she cleared her runway. She got to the left side of the floor and I knew she was going to attempt it.”
