Quarter by quarter reactions: #1 South Carolina at #2 Stanford
Gamecocks remain on top after earning the 76-71 win in overtime on the Cardinal's home floor
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South Carolina picked up their 16th straight win over a ranked opponent with the 76-71 victory in California on Sunday afternoon. The game, which was decided in overtime, delivered exactly what you would expect from a No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup. The close matchup reaffirms that South Carolina and Stanford are the top two teams in the country right now.
I broke down my biggest takeaways from the matchup, quarter by quarter:
Quarter 1: The Cameron Brink show
The first quarter of this matchup was all Stanford, and more specifically, all Cameron Brink. Brink scored 12 points on 5-7 shooting in the opening ten minutes, totaling more than the Gamecocks collectively at the end of the first.
South Carolina started with Aliyah Boston guarding Brink, which was a successful matchup. Brink missed her first attempt and turned the ball over on the second with Boston on her. However, when the Gamecocks switched to having Kamilla Cardoso and Victaria Saxton guard Brink, she excelled. Brink was able to draw her defender to the perimeter, connecting from beyond the arc once, and also using that positioning to beat her defender in the lane for clean looks in the paint.
Other takeaways from the first quarter:
Stanford’s double team on Boston was effective in limiting her productivity in the paint. The Cardinal’s size make them one of the best fit teams to deploy this strategy, but I think we’ll continue to see it. Stanford slacked off Fletcher early on to double Boston, which works well if Fletcher continues to average just 3.8 points per game.
South Carolina’s offense was really limited when Aliyah Boston was on the bench in foul trouble. While Boston did pick up the two early fouls here, she does not have a history of foul trouble. She averaged just 1.9 fouls per 40 minutes last season, so I don’t see this a glaring issue for South Carolina.
True freshman Talana Lepolo’s poise at the point guard position from the start of this matchup was impressive. Lepolo made some good plays on the defensive end and had a few strong reads on the offensive end against a tough defense.
Quarter 2: South Carolina’s depth shines through
The South Carolina bench scored all 20 of the Gamecocks’ points in the second quarter. That’s impressive alone, but against the No. 2 team in the country it’s remarkable. The depth of talent allowed South Carolina to enter the locker room down by just four points, despite Boston spending the full quarter on the bench in foul trouble. Depth will be a game changer for the Gamecocks this season, allowing their stars to get rest without sacrificing much production on the floor.
The scoring effort was balanced across many options off the bench, but Laeticia Amihere stood out as setting the tone defensively to get the Gamecocks going on offense.
Other takeaways from the second quarter:
As the Cardinal continues to try to navigate the point guard position, turnovers started to pile up. Six turnovers in the quarter allowed South Carolina to get out in transition and gave the Gamecocks more opportunities to close the margin.
Brink played just one minute in the second quarter before heading to the bench with her second foul. It’s not a coincidence that Brink’s absence coincided with Stanford struggling to execute offensively. Her versatility on offense changes how you have to guard Stanford, and this quarter was a clear example of how impactful Brink is and why Stanford needs her on the floor. The Cardinal will be significantly better if Brink can overcome the foul trouble that has plagued her career so far.
Quarter 3: South Carolina strays from their bread and butter
South Carolina scored just four points in the paint in the third quarter and did not create any second chance opportunities on the glass, struggling in the two areas they usually dominate.
The Gamecocks really struggled to get good positioning in the lane this quarter. In particular, Boston had a rare performance where she seemed to struggle to find success. Ashten Prechtel deserves a lot of credit for limiting Boston’s contributions. Prechtel had more success guarding Boston in the third than any player in the country in recent memory.
Other takeaways from the third quarter:
Brink picked up her third foul early on, leaving her once again on the bench for much of the quarter. If Stanford had been able to keep her on the floor, perhaps they would have been able to extend their lead.
Three point shooting was one of the major difference makers in Stanford taking the ten point lead into the fourth. The Cardinal found success from deep, connecting on six triples by the end of the third. The Gamecocks did not find much success on the perimeter in this game, and also attempt very few looks which allowed the Stanford defense to start packing the paint more.
Quarter 4: Stanford fails to execute
Stanford went an astounding 1-12 from the floor in the final quarter, which allowed South Carolina to close the window and force overtime. The Cardinal also turned the ball six times in the final ten minutes of regulation.
Some of that failed execution down the stretch can be chalked up to the growing pains of having a true freshman at point guard, in November, against the top team in the country. However, Stanford also simply needed senior Haley Jones to be better in the final stretch. Jones was 0-7 in the fourth, and tried to work in isolation too much - going away from the ball movement that usually fuels Stanford’s offense.
Other takeaways from the fourth quarter:
Aliyah Boston did what Aliyah Boston does. While Boston was relatively quiet, partially due to foul trouble, in the first 30 minutes she added four points and seven rebounds, including 3 offensive boards in the fourth to help South Carolina force overtime.
South Carolina won the rebound battle in the fourth quarter, when it perhaps mattered the most in the game. This was a good response from the Gamecocks on the boards after losing that battle in the rest of the game.
Brea Beal’s three to cut the game to one to was huge. Beal’s emergence as a perimeter threat continues to be a gamechanger for South Carolina this season. Beal is now shooting 43.8 percent from deep on the season.
Overtime: The emergence of Bree Hall
Of course Boston was instrumental in South Carolina securing the win in the extra period, but it was Bree Hall who really shined. Hall played well all game, resulting in Dawn Staley keeping her on the floor to start the overtime period. She capitalized on the opportunity, knocking down two huge threes to leave South Carolina on top.
Other takeaways from overtime:
Brink fouling out felt like the dagger for Stanford. Brink was fantastic in her minutes on the court on both ends. Not having her for the final minutes was a tough blow for the Cardinal.
Stanford’s execution in overtime mirrored the fourth quarter. The Cardinal couldn’t capitalize on the opportunities they had in the final five minutes either.
While South Carolina got the win, their free throw shooting down the stretch could have cost them the game. The Gamecocks are shooting just 66 percent from the line so far this season - something to keep an eye on.
South Carolina will take on their next ranked opponent when No. 20 UCLA comes to Columbia on November 29th. For Stanford, No. 23 Tennessee comes to town on December 18th, but will likely be unranked next week. No. 16 Creighton will play at Stanford on December 20th.