South Carolina women's basketball: Five Things to Watch - Florida

South Carolina Women’s Basketball: News • Recruiting • Schedule • Roster • Stats • SEC • Polls • Scholarships

1. Stay focused

You could be forgiven if maybe Thursday night’s game against Florida hasn’t captured your heart and mind the way recent games against UConn and LSU did. Yours eyes might already be wandering ahead to senior day or the postseason.

Dawn Staley is not worried.

“This team stays current,” Staley said. “If they don’t want to stay current, the rest of the way is pretty jam-packed for us.”

The Gamecocks’ depth also helps. Minutes are so scarce for the reserves that they don’t take anything for granted.

“This is a team that is constantly trying to get better,” Staley said. “They do it by holding each other accountable when someone isn’t playing up to par and affirming when they are playing well.”. 

2. Looking ahead

The road ahead is also helping South Carolina stay focused. The Gamecocks are just one game up on second-place LSU, so they need to keep winning to achieve their goal of winning the SEC.

Then there are the goals of winning the SEC Tournament and repeating as national champions. South Carolina slipped up in the SEC Tournament last season. That missed opportunity still stings, just like the missed opportunity in the Final Four provided motivation last season.

South Carolina also has a chance at a perfect season, an achievement that keeps Staley’s quest for constant improvement from ringing hollow.

“I want us to continue to get better, and I do see that,” Staley said. “We’ve become better at practice, we’ve become better at sharing the basketball, and we’ve become better and being the aggressor offensively.”

3. Record watch

Aliyah Boston will tie Tyasha Harris for the second most games started with 127. Brea Beal and Zia Cooke will be a game behind at 126.

Boston is 50 rebounds behind Sheila Foster for the school record. She is 55 blocks behind A’ja Wilson for the school record. Boston is already in second place in both categories. She is tied with Wilson for the most blocks in SEC play. 

Cooke needs five more three-pointers to tie Tiffany Mitchell for fifth in career threes. 

South Carolina is ranked #1 in the AP poll for the 34th consecutive week. That ties UConn for the third-longest streak. The second-longest streak is 36 weeks, held by Louisiana Tech.

4. Game day events

Thursday night’s game is a white-out, with fans asked to wear white. The first 1,000 students will receive a white “DNA” t-shirt. 

The Gamecocks are once again holding a book drive for the Alaina Coates FAAM Foundation. Fans are asked to donate new or gently used books.

Thursday is also the annual Teddy Bear Toss. The first two toss games were held in December, but the Gamecocks moved it to February this season so that more fans would be able to participate. Bring a soft teddy bear (or any stuffed animal) to throw onto the court at halftime.

5. Scouting the Gators

Florida has struggled this season, and the Gators are just hoping to avoid a bottom-four seed in the SEC Tournament. A preseason injury to Zippy Broughton, followed by an early season injury to Jordyn Merrit, derailed the season practically from the get-go.

West Virginia transfer KK Deans leads Florida with 13.8 points and 3.4 assists. Backcourt mates Nina Rickards and Leilani Correa also average double figures in scoring.

Along with 6-6 Ra Shaya Kyle and 6-4 Faith Dut on the front line, Florida is one of the few teams that can match South Carolina’s size. That has Staley’s attention.

“Florida is getting healthier. They haven’t been healthy, with their full roster. They’re there now,” she said. “They’re big. They post up strong. If we allow them deep post-ups we’re going to have a really long night.”

The Ws

Who: #1 South Carolina (25-0, 12-0) vs Florida (14-11, 3-9)

When: 7:00 ET, Thursday, February 16

Where: Colonial Life Arena

Watch: SEC Network+