There are a lot of coaches around the country who are probably experiencing a bit of schadenfreude this weekend. For most of the last decade, opposing coaches have faced the nearly impossible task of defending South Carolina’s fearsome low post game.
But on Sunday, the shoe is on the other foot. Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks face the daunting task of trying to contain the Bruins’ punishing post players.
For the better part of a decade, South Carolina has had one dominant post after another, and usually more than one at a time.
From Alaina Coates to A’ja Wilson to Aliyah Boston to Kamilla Cardoso, the Gamecocks have had a nearly unrivaled run of dominant bigs.
But they are all gone, and no one has emerged to replace them.
In Westwood, it’s a different story. Lauren Betts, the former top overall recruit, has looked like one of the best players in the country. She’s backed up by Janhiah Barker, who was the third overall recruit behind Betts in 2022 and was a former All-SEC player.
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Betts is averaging 21.5 points and 11.5 rebounds, while Barker is chipping in 11.3 points and 9.8 rebounds.
UCLA also has Timea Gardiner (14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds) and Angela Dugalić (9.0 points and 9.0 rebounds), giving the Bruins post depth not seen since, well, the Gamecocks.
But it’s Betts South Carolina has to zero in on. She’s an automatic mismatch at 6-7, and she has a good mid-range shooting touch. As a result, Betts is shooting 72.2% this season.
“Lot of ways, with a lot of different bigs, lot of different bodies, lot of different abilities,” Staley said. “I would imagine that it’s just gonna be a tough game for us all. She poses a different challenge than even with Kamilla. It’s a little bit different. Kamilla could roam out on the outside and go in. Betts is really good when she gets two feet in the paint. So we’ve got to try our best to not give her those kind of looks. We just need to knock off her efficiency rate. 79% (shooting) probably at 22 field goal attempts is not good math. She’s that effective.”
South Carolina has plenty of depth, the Gamecocks just lack the premier player other teams lose sleep over. But Staley has said repeatedly this season that she likes how each of her frontcourt players brings a different skill set to the game, and thus different pros and cons.
Sania Feagin starts at center, but she is more of a four converted to the five, and defense isn’t her forte. However, she is the most versatile offensive player of the group.
Ashlyn Watkins, who was expected to be the next great post, may be the most athletic player in the country. She is South Carolina’s best defender, but she is only 6-3.
It goes on for the rest of the group. Adhel Tac probably matches up best with Betts in terms of size. Maryam Dauda can shoot threes and draw Betts away from the paint. Sakima Walker has a mix of size and scoring touch.
“So the more we get Feagin and Chloe (Kitts) and Joyce (Edwards) in a position of getting some mileage is only going to help us. And I would like to extend that to Maryam and Kima and Adhel. We’re just trying to strengthen our bench. At this point, we know what Ashlyn is going to bring. The sharper we are with everybody else, the harder it is going to be to scout us.”
Staley obviously won’t publicly divulge the game plan, but that’s the gist of it. Throw multiple players at Betts, make har play different ways, and make her defend.
“We’re gonna go in there confident like we do every game,”she said. “And if we need to make adjustments, we’ll make adjustments.”
