South Carolina returns to the court on Sunday for one final tune-up before SEC play. Find out how to watch and what to watch for when South Carolina hosts Wofford.
1. Holiday haze
Against Charleston Southern, the Gamecocks played like a team that was already on holiday break. They had six days off and got back to work the day after Christmas. Anybody hoping the holiday hangover left with Santa Claus will be disappointed.
“Forced good,” Dawn Staley said. “We had a long break and sometimes when you have a long break you get out of rhythm. It’s just trying to get us back in rhythm.”
Most people can relate to being out of rhythm this time of year, and Staley went on to say that practices are rarely good at this time of year.
“We’re still working on our kinks and getting the rust off,” Te-Hina Paopao said. “We’re really excited to get going tomorrow and get things clean again.”
2. Last warmup
Poor practices haven’t been unusual for this group of players, who Staley has often called gamers. They have been good at pulling everything together when the lights come on, and that’s what Staley is hoping to see on Sunday.
“I just want us to play to our standard,” Staley said. “That’s on both sides of the ball.”
Paopao said the “daycare” has spent a little too much time at recess lately and she’s had to get on her teammates a few times about the lack of focus. Hopefully, with the SEC grind on the horizon, the Gamecocks will have a clean dress rehearsal.
“I want us to be a unit, play with chemistry, and be who we are,” Paopao said. “The last couple of practices we haven’t really exemplified that. We’re going to do that tomorrow and come with the mindset that we’ve got to get ready for conference play.”
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3. Three times for Joyce?
Freshman Joyce Edwards scored a new career high in back-to-back games before the break. She had 15 points against USF and then 20 against Charleston Southern. Can she increase it for a third straight game?
It would be wrong to say that Edwards struggled to start the season, but it seems like the proverbial light has come on for her recently.
4. Who’s playing?
The media was allowed in to see the final minutes of practice on Saturday. During that period Sakima Walker was leaning on crutches (although she didn’t seem to to need much help moving). Staley confirmed that Walker is probably out for Sunday’s game.
Walker has not played since the Iowa State game and has been sidelined with an ankle injury since the TCU game. She is averaging 1.0 points and 1.0 rebounds in six games.
I asked Staley if everyone else would be available to play and Staley hesitated.
“You’ll know tomorrow,” she finally said.
During the period open to the media, freshman point guard Maddy McDaniel was not at practice. We’ll find out on Sunday if the two things are related.
5. Scouting the Terriers
Wofford was the unanimous preseason pick to win the SoCon and senior guard Rachael Rose was the preseason player of the year. Wofford checks in at 191 in the NET rankings. Staley likes to schedule a team South Carolina could face in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and Wofford fits that description.
This will be Wofford’s third game against a power conference opponent. The Terriers lost 93-58 at Duke and 76-42 at Kentucky.
Leading scorer Rose averaged 22.3 points last season and won her second SoCon Player of the Year award. She missed six games earlier this season with an injury but did return to score 23 at Duke.
Wofford assistant Ashley Raley-Ross is married to former gamecock Brandis Raley-Ross.
The Ws
Who: #2 South Carolina (11-1) vs Wofford (6-4)
When: 2:00 EST, Sunday, December 29
Where: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia SC
Watch: SEC Network
