How South Carolina beat UConn
Plus, what to look for in the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship later this week
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South Carolina made a statement on Monday with a 73 - 57 win over UConn in the women’s Battle 4 Atlantis championship. The Gamecocks captured the first of at least two (I expect we’ll also see these two teams meet in Minneapolis, as well) contests between them and the Huskies this season.
The first half in this matchup was a game of runs, but South Carolina was able to blow out the lead with a 16-3 edge in the final 10 minutes following a close third quarter. Aliyah Boston reminded everyone that she is clearly the best center in the country with an impressive 22 point and 15 rebound performance, really dominating on both ends, especially in the second half. Here’s a look at some of the things the Gamecocks did well in the win - and what makes them so good right now:
Dominance on the glass
South Carolina destroyed UConn on the glass, owning the rebounding advantage 42 - 25. While the Gamecocks did a nice job of cleaning up on the defensive end, what really stood out was their performance on the offensive glass. South Carolina rebounded 50 percent of their own misses in the game, turning 19 offensive rebounds into 17 points. Even when the Gamecocks were not able to capitalize on their second chance opportunities, those rebounds led to extended possessions which helped stagnate UConn’s offense in the final quarter.
Aliyah Boston has seven of South Carolina’s offensive boards, and also scored seven of her 22 points on second chance opportunities. Even when UConn’s defense was able to stop Boston on the first shot of a possession, she often create a second one - pointing too what makes this South Carolina frontcourt so lethal.
Zia Cooke and Destanni Henderson stepped up
While the Gamecocks were expected to win the inside battle against the Huskies, the play of Zia Cooke and Destanni Henderson elevated this team to the next level in the matchup; the two combined for 32 points. This game was an extension of what we’ve seen from Cooke throughout the first five games of South Carolina’s season - smarter decision making, aggressive takes to the basket, and the ability to create her own shot. She continued to show that against the No. 2 team in the country. While the outing wasn’t Henderson’s most efficient scoring night, her quickness made a big difference on both ends of the court with six assists and six steals.
Taking care of the ball in the second half
The turnovers that have been plaguing South Carolina throughout the start of the season were a big factor in allowing the Huskies to start the game off on a big run, taking as much as a 13-point lead in the first half. After committing 11 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes, however, the Gamecocks cleaned up their ball handling significantly in the second half and only added three more turnovers to the count. If South Carolina can take care of the ball as well as they did in the final stretch through the rest of their season, they’ll look even better than they did on Monday.
No. 2 Maryland, No. 4 Indiana, No. 5 NC State and No. 7 Stanford are all participating in the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship, which tips off on Thanksgiving Day in the Bahamas (and on FloHoops for those of us not on the beach this weekend).
Here’s what I’m watching from each of the top teams in this Turkey Day weekend tournament:
Maryland: Maryland will be a bit shorthanded in the Bahamas, most notably missing sharp shooter Katie Benzan who did not travel with the team due to an illness. It will be interesting to see if the Terps can step up their defensive effort in this tournament. They squeaked out a win over Baylor, with NaLyssa Smith putting up 30 on them on Sunday. Elissa Cunane, Rayna Perez and Haley Jones are all capable of similar feats. I think Maryland’s defense will have to be better for them to secure a win on this trip.
NC State: NC State had a really solid outing against South Carolina in the opening game of the season. In that game, however, Elissa Cunane struggled against the Gamecocks’ frontcourt. She has since followed that up with a strong performance against Kansas State’s Ayoka Lee last week. At 6-foot-5 there’s really no matchup answer for her on Maryland’s squad - so I’m looking to see if she can dominate in the paint against a top opponent.
Indiana: Stanford is the first top ten game Indiana will play this season. The Hoosiers impressed in a big win against Kentucky last week, but then struggled some against Quinnipiac this week. A win here would make a statement about how good this Indiana team is - and pushes them closer to the top tier of teams this season.
Stanford: How much we’ll be able to takeaway from Stanford’s performance in this tournament hinges heavily on whether Haley Jones is available. While I’m interested to see how the Cardinal will fair against Indiana and Maryland, the most interesting game here may be South Florida. The Bulls play a similar style to Texas, and this will be another tough defense that Stanford will need to grind out a win against. This game should give a good look at what adjustments Stanford has been able to make over the last week or so since that loss.
Great stuff