South Carolina women's basketball: Five Things to Watch - #19 Alabama

South Carolina women’s basketball hits the road for a Top-25 matchup against Alabama. Find out how to watch and what to watch for.

1. Keep grinding

With all due respect, Alabama is the least glamorous opponent in South Carolina’s stretch of five consecutive ranked opponents. That doesn’t make the Crimson Tide any less dangerous, and that’s why the SEC is so challenging. 

Part of the challenge is the different styles. Texas only took five three-pointers in the entire game Sunday. Alabama might take that many by the first media timeout. 

This is where depth, and the versatility it provides, is an asset.

Against Texas, Dawn Staley leaned heavily on her more experienced players. Maryam Dauda and Adhel Tac played just nine total minutes, and Sakima Walker and Maddy McDaniel didn’t play at all. 

Against Alabama’s four-out lineup, it would be surprising if McDaniel sits again. Plus, Staley would probably rather not play Raven Johnson and Sania Feagin over 30 minutes again.

“We use it to our advantage, obviously, by playing a lot of players,” Staley said. “They all deserve to be on the floor. Some of them that don’t play probably deserve a little bit more. It helps in the whole longevity of a season.”

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2. Feagin

Speaking of Feagin, she was outstanding last week. Arguably, nobody did more last week to step up in Ashlyn Watkins’ absence. But that was just one week. There are eight more to go (plus the postseason).  

Will Feagin continue to play that well? South Carolina’s national championship aspirations might depend on it.

3. Streaks

Something’s got to give. Alabama is riding a 14-game home winning streak and hasn’t lost in Tuscaloosa in over a year. With all due respect, South Carolina’s streak is more impressive. 

Staley is 22-0 against Alabama. The Crimson Tide is the only SEC team (not counting newbies Texas and Oklahoma) that has never beaten Staley.

The series hasn’t been particularly close, either. The average score of those 22 games is 75.4 to 54.0, an average margin of victory of more than 21 points. Alabama only came within single digits once, a 62-59 loss in 2019 in Columbia. Ten wins have been by 20 or more, including three by at least 40. 

Since you asked, South Carolina was 10-15 against Alabama before Staley’s arrival.

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4. Availability Report

South Carolina’s availability report Wednesday night was as clean as it will be for the rest of the season. Only Ashlyn Watkins (OUT) was listed.

The only Alabama player listed was guard Sarah Ashlee Barker, who was Questionable. Barker was also listed as Questionable on Sunday against Ole Miss but didn’t play. She has been out since suffering a leg injury against Florida on Jan. 2, and Alabama coach Kristi Curry recently described Barker as “day-to-day.”

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5. Scouting the Crimson Tide

Alabama has managed a 3-1 league record without Barker thanks to the play of Zaay Green and Aaliyah Nye. Green averages 16.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. Nye averages 14.8 points and is coming off a career-high 32 points against Ole Miss.

Nye is one of the top three-point shooters in the country. She went 7-11 against Ole Miss, her third game this season with at least seven threes. Nye leads the country in that category and is third in threes per game (3.6) while hitting 44.8% from behind the arc.

As a team, Alabama hits 38% from three. Sophomore Essence Cody holds down the paint, averaging 10.3 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds. Without Barker, though, Alabama doesn’t have much help for Cody on the boards.

“They’re well-coached; they always have great guard play,” Staley said. “They can shoot the ball. If they’re allowed to make what they’re comfortably taking each game, we’re in trouble. (It’s a) hard place to play, so for us it’s just our habits. It’s just packing our habits and, hopefully, guard the three-point line and guard the paint.”

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The Ws
Who: #2 South Carolina (16-1, 4-0) at #19 Alabama (16-2, 3-1)
When: 7 p.m. ET, Thursday, January 16
Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Watch: SEC Network+

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