South Carolina women's basketball: Bree Hall grows into leadership role

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It’s clear that Bree Hall is one of the Gamecocks’ leaders this season. She represented the team at SEC Media Days and has been penciled in as a starter since the end of last season.

There was no single moment when Hall took over that leadership role. Like most of her career, it happened gradually thanks to hard work.

“I’ve been waiting my two years and I’m excited to go out there,” Hall said.

Hall was overlooked for most of the high school awards in Ohio and was initially ranked in the low 20s and 30s nationally. But she improved throughout her junior and senior seasons and climbed to 14th overall and was named a McDonald’s All-American.

Hall was still the lowest-ranked member of South Carolina’s top-ranked 2021 signing class. Dawn Staley joked that Hall always moved 100 miles per hour, even if she didn’t always know where she was going. That was good enough for Hall to be the most productive member of her freshman class.

Initially, Hall’s role didn’t change much last season. She was mostly called on to bring energy and defense. But now she knew where to go and when to let off the gas, and hit a pair of critical overtime threes in the win at Stanford.

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Hall scored a career-high 18 points in a January game at Alabama, but it wasn’t until March that Hall quietly came into her own. She tied for the team-high with ten points against UCLA and hit clutch threes against Tennessee and Maryland that helped seal wins. 

Hall was just in the right place at the right time to score, South Carolina was running plays to get her open looks.

It came crashing down in the Final Four loss to Iowa. Hall, who shot 36% from three for the season, was just 1-4 despite Iowa leaving her open in her favorite spot. After the game, Hall could have ducked away from the media. Instead, she sat at her locker and patiently answered every question.

“This brings a lot of motivation honestly, knowing that I have to step into a really big role next year,” Hall said, her voice rising. “I think honestly I’m ready to step into that role. I’m ready to take on that journey to step into that role and become who I’m capable of being.”

Staley never had to tell Hall she was now one of the leaders of the team, but they did talk this summer about what the role entails. 

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“She told me that I had to step up and play that role as a leader,” Hall said. “But she knows I’m best at leading by example. And it’s just what I do. I’m still improving on my vocal leadership. But yeah, we did have a conversation about it.”

“Whether she’s a leader or not, I want her to be able to be on every day in practice,” Staley said at media day. “If trying to be a leader takes away from that, then I just want her to be on, to handle the heavy load of going every rep instead of every third rep and being good at that and being consistent at playing both sides of the basketball. But she’s trying. She’s really trying to be a little more vocal. She’s trying to take on that heavy load. She’s doing a great job of balancing it right now.”

In the exhibition against Rutgers, Hall had 10 points, three rebounds, and two assists while hitting 2-4 from three. She wasn’t spectacular but she was efficient and played within the scheme.

Before leaving for France, Hall said she was comfortable with her role and happy with the Gamecocks’ progress, emphasizing how they played together.

“Our chemistry is improving on and off the court,” Hall said. “We’re improving a lot on our shooting. And I think our defense is coming together very well.”

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