South Carolina Gamecocks
SEC (23-9, 10-6)
Coach Dawn Staley has not quite built South Carolina into a power team in the SEC, but she has taken the Gamecocks in the right direction during her four years at the helm. South Carolina has been relatively inconsistent this season, but they have also won some huge games on the road, most notably against Tennessee and Florida. This group has some deficiencies, but their stellar defense will keep them in every game.
Big Wins: 1/8 at Florida (49-44), 1/22 at Vanderbilt (65-60), 2/2 at Tennessee (64-60)
Bad Losses: 12/4 at North Carolina State (53-55), 1/19 at Auburn (49-53), 2/9 at Arkansas (47-68)
Coach: Dawn Staley (4 seasons at South Carolina)
Why They Can Surprise:
And it is that defense that will lead the way for the Gamecocks if they are to have any success in March. This is one of the best defenses in the nation and that is saying a lot in a conference that has quite a few teams that can score a ton of points. South Carolina does it with a team effort and anybody who is not playing defense will find a spot on the bench for a little while. Guard Ieasia Walker spearheads the nearly ten steals per game that South Carolina swipes away, but the defensive effort is about a lot more than steals; it is about making the opposition work for every shot they take. Shooting three-pointers against the Gamecocks is hardly worth the effort and scoring inside the arc is not much easier.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The Gamecocks have to play a swarming defense to make up for their lack of size. The idea is to not allow the pass to get into the paint. No player on USC is over 6-0 tall and nobody is a particularly good shot blocker either. That makes it pretty easy for the opposition to score if they get the ball in the paint…but that is a big “if.” On the offensive end the Gamecocks will slow things down and work the clock. Unfortunately, they are not very good scorers either. Markeshia Grant and La’Keisha Sutton are the most dangerous scorers and the best shooters on the team, but both can be very streaky with their outside shot. For a team that boasts a bunch of scrappy guards, this is a bad shooting team. The free-throw shooting is atrocious, but that is mostly due to forwards Aleighsa Welch and Ashley Bruner who get to the charity stripe more often than anybody else on the team. The perimeter players do not shoot much better and if South Carolina cannot hit the long ball, their defense will keep them close, but they will not be able to pull off victories over quality opponents.
Probable Starters:
Ieasia Walker, Junior, Guard, 7.8 ppg, 3.1 apg, 4.2 rpg
Markeshia Grant, Senior, Guard, 10.6 ppg, 1.8 apg
La’Keisha Sutton, Senior, Guard, 10.5 ppg, 2.6 apg
Courtney Newton, Senior, Guard, 0.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg
Charenee Stephens, Senior, Forward, 4.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Ashley Bruner, Junior, Forward, 7.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg
Tina Roy, Freshman, Guard, 4.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg
Aleighsa Welch, Freshman, Forward, 7.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg
Sancheon White, Junior, Guard, 3.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 60.5 (196th in nation, 8th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 49.5 (4, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 39.5 (141, 7)
Field-Goal Defense: 36.8 (76, 4)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 4.4 (195, 8)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 27.5 (227, 8)
Free-Throw Percentage: 58.2 (336, 12)
Rebound Margin: 4.8 (48, 4)
Assists Per Game: 11.2 (260, 10)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.9 (39, 1)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
South Carolina 2011 NIT Round of 64 win over Appalachian State
South Carolina 2011 NIT Round of 32 loss to Charlotte
South Carolina 2008 NIT First Round loss to North Carolina A&T
South Carolina 2008 NIT Second Round loss to North Carolina State
South Carolina 2007 NIT Second Round win over Hartford
South Carolina 2007 NIT Third Round loss to Hofstra
South Carolina 2006 NIT First Round loss to Xavier
South Carolina 2003 NCAA Round of 64 win over Chattanooga
South Carolina 2003 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Penn State
*all team stats through 3/1
See All Women’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
