What we learned from No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 2 Stanford
One thing is clear - these are the top two teams in the nation right now
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Tuesday night’s top-two matchup between South Carolina and Stanford was a tail of two halves. The Cardinal came out firing on offense, shooting 53 percent from the floor, paired with stifling defense in the paint to take a 14 point lead into the locker room. In the second half, South Carolina forced 13 Stanford turnovers and outscored the Cardinal 22-7 in the third quarter alone. The Gamecocks ultimately held on to secure the win, moving to 12-0 on the season.
Here’s a look at some of the main takeaways from this matchup:
South Carolina is still the team to beat…
South Carolina’s resume now features wins over six ranked opponents, including all four of the teams I would consider to be in the title contender discussion right now - Stanford, UConn (when healthy), NC State and Maryland (not totally sold on the Terps yet, but they at least deserve a consideration). This team is battle tested heading into SEC play, and has proven they can beat you in multiple ways. Even if they drop a couple games along the way in conference play, this team is the clear No. 1 overall seed in March.
… but Stanford isn’t far behind.
While the absence of Kiana Williams is still showing for the Cardinal (see: 19 turnovers), this Stanford team has certainly figured some things out since their losses to Texas and South Florida earlier this season. Much like last year, the depth and versatility of this Stanford roster continues to impress and allowed this team to hang around with the Gamecocks until the final seconds despite the disastrous number of turnovers in the second half. Stanford still has plenty of room for improvement, but regardless of the fact that they now have three losses, I think they clearly look like the second best team in the country.
Stanford’s defensive game plan against the Gamecocks was effective
The Cardinal’s defensive game plan did an excellent job of taking advantage of one of the few weaknesses of this South Carolina team: their three point shooting. Destanni Henderson has been the only consistent three-point threat for the Gamecocks, which allowed Stanford’s defense to help off on the perimeter and pack it in the paint.
That in turn limited South Carolina’s ability to be score inside. The Gamecocks were an uncharacteristic 13-32 on layups in the game, and were forced to take more shots from the mid-range where they are less successful. Beyond the inside game, Stanford’s defense disrupted South Carolina’s offense in the half court as a whole. South Carolina capitalized on Stanford’s turnovers to score 26 points, but the remainder of their offense was pretty stagnant.
Stanford is somewhat uniquely set up to execute that game plan with their size. Every rotation player other than Anna Wilson is 6-foot or taller, making the Cardinal a matchup nightmare for most squads, and well positioned to guard the size of South Carolina inside. Their length in the paint gave the Gamecocks a lot of trouble.
Destanni Henderson’s return is critical for South Carolina
I think its fair to say South Carolina does not win this game without Henderson. The point guard’s absence on the floor has been glaring in the Gamecocks’ narrow wins over Maryland and Duke, and Henderson’s presence on the floor was the obvious X-factor against Stanford. Not only did Henderson have 17 points and score or assist on 58 percent of South Carolina’s baskets in the game, but she also tallied seven steals. The easier looks the Gamecocks got in transition won the game for them - making Henderson’s defensive pressure the most valuable asset of her game in this one.
Stanford spaces the floor better than anyone in the country
Stanford’s ability to space the floor allowed their offense to thrive in the first half. The ability of the Cardinal’s bigs to step out and hit shots from the mid-range and, in the case of Ashten Prechtel at least, from three forces the defense to have to spread the floor more. That allows Stanford to find success both on the perimeter and cutting into the lane.