South Carolina perfect in spite of inexperience
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Even Dawn Staley can’t believe she’s watching No. 1 South Carolina, the last undefeated team in NCAA Division I women’s basketball this season.
To hear their coach describe them, the Gamecocks’ practice sessions are filled with defensive breakdowns, missed shots and terrible execution.
But when the game tips off, South Carolina turns into a juggernaut, more than ready to take on and dominate the best competition. The Gamecocks (17-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) get that chance again Thursday night, when they play at No. 9 LSU (18-2, 5-1), the reigning national champion and the preseason pick to win the SEC.
“I think we’ll rise to whatever we need to rise to,” Staley said Wednesday.
No team has been better overall than the young Gamecocks this season. They lead the country in field-goal percentage and field-goal percentage defense, they’ve beaten four ranked opponents by an average margin of 20.8 points, and they’ve done it with a group in which only one player from last year’s Final Four team — point guard Raven Johnson — started any games.
“They don’t have the players they had last year,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said. “Obviously, they lost a lot. But South Carolina just reloads.”
The Gamecocks lean heavily on 6-foot-7 Kamilla Cardoso, who backed up All-American Aliyah Boston the past two seasons, and Oregon transfer Te-Hina Paopao.
Cardoso, who has averaged a double-double with 13.3 points and 10.7 rebounds and leads the team defensively with 49 blocks, prepped at Chattanooga’s Hamilton Heights Christian Academy.
Paopao is second on the team at 12.5 points a game and leads the SEC in 3-point shooting percentage at .558 (43-of-77), offering a behindthe-arc dimension Staley’s teams have not always had.
MiLaysia Fulwiley is a dynamic freshman who plays with a flash and skill that Staley sometimes has to reign in. Fulwiley and second-year forward Chloe Kitts, both averaging double-digit points, have often pushed the pace when opponents make mistakes.
Reserve forward Ashlyn Watkins is second in blocks at 47 and put up the program’s second dunk — she got the first as a freshman last year — when she stole the ball at midcourt and broke free toward the basket against Kentucky earlier this month.
LSU is not without its standouts, led by versatile forward Angel Reese, who like Cardoso has averaged a double-double (19.9 points, 12.1 rebounds).
Reese was joined this year by a couple of high-profile transfers in Hailey Van Lith from Louisville and Aneesah Morrow from DePaul. Van Lith leads the Tigers with 74 assists, while Morrow has averaged 18.1 points and 9.7 rebounds.
Reese and the Tigers were beaten badly at South Carolina last season, 88-64. An anticipated Final Four rematch was derailed by the Gamecocks’ only loss last season, 77-73, to Iowa and star Caitlin Clark in the national semifinals.
Mulkey thinks Reese wants to redeem herself from last year’s loss.
“I hope she uses it as motivation,” the coach said.
The teams play just once in the regular season, although it’s a good bet they could meet for the SEC tournament title in March or deep in the NCAA tourney a month later.
Even those skilled at breaking down video don’t always know what they’re seeing from a team when Staley’s Gamecocks are the opponent.
“It’s hard for me to judge if a team is any good or not, because her team is so good in all aspects and facets of the game,” South Carolina men’s basketball coach Lamont Paris said.
If only Staley could get her Gamecocks to look as good during workouts as in games. It happened again Wednesday, with Staley dissatisfied when Johnson gambled for a steal and didn’t get it.
“Ball side, Ra!” Staley shouted. “Ball side!”
Johnson, a junior, said the players are connected and know they can reach whatever level it takes to succeed.
“That comes with our coaching staff,” Johnson said. “They tell us not to get too high with the highs or too low with the lows.”
That includes Thursday’s trip to Baton Rouge.
“We’ve just got to treat this as another game on the road,” she said.
So far, it’s a strategy that has worked to perfection for the Gamecocks.