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

South Carolina and Maryland race off in the Sweet 16 on Friday. Find out how to watch and what to watch for.

1. You again?
South Carolina had a longstanding home-and-home series that ended after last season, but they still can’t get away from each other. They’ve played eight times before, with seven of the games coming since 2017. 

Six of the games were pivotal early-season measuring sticks.

“They’re awesome battles,” Maryland’s Brenda Frese said. “Clearly, we’re going against the defending national champions, and it is a team that we’re really familiar with just because of the past games that we’ve played. They’re really talented, obviously well-coached, deep, athletic. When your top two leading scorers come off the bench, that just speaks to the bench of their balance.”

South Carolina holds a 6-2 advantage, including five straight wins. Beating Maryland has been a stepping stone to all three of South Carolina;s national championships, as well as the 2020 consensus no. 1 team.

“I think it’s very similar in the style of play, just different people,” Dawn Staley said. “She got some players out of the transfer portal and made herself a team. They have great chemistry. That’s super cool that you can bring in as many new players and get them to gel. Super cool and happy for Brenda for that.”

There are also off-the-court ties between the programs. Former Gamecock Lindsey Spann is an assistant coach at Maryland. Current Gamecocks assistant – and soon-to-be Grand Canyon head coach – Winston Gandy, graduated from Maryland and started his coaching career there.

2. Big Shot Breezy
One of the more memorable games in the series came in the 2023 Elite Eight in Greenville. South Carolina won that game 86-75, and Bree Hall hit a game clinching three late.

Hall remembered the shot, and said that she was such an unknown at that point that Maryland didn’t pay attention to her. Looking back, she’s able to laugh about one of the shots that made her “Big Shot Breezy.”

“Actually, funny enough, I wasn’t even on their scout,” Hall said. “They didn’t know. I had not come into myself yet. I don’t think they would ever do that again.”

I checked my story from that game, and here was what I wrote, praising her defense and shot-making:

“With each game, Hall looks more and more ready to be a key contributor next season. We may look back on this March as the month she came into her own.”

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Be in the know about all things Gamecocks for just $1 for 7 days—lock in this special offer!

3. Rebound
Rebounding has been one of the best barometers for South Carolina this season. Maryland is tenth in the country in rebounding margin, at plus-8.7.

For comparison, South Carolina is 14th in the country at plus-8.3.

“They’re just a team that gives multiple efforts,” Te-Hina Paopao said. “They’re a really good rebounding team, so we’re going to have to key on boxing out and not letting them get offensive boards and just being real physical and real aggressive from the start of the game until the end of the game and just playing a full 40 minutes on both ends of the court.”

4. No rest for the weary
South Carolina should be the fresher team on Friday. Maryland had one less day to rest, and had to play a double overtime game on Monday. 

“It’s really tough because South Carolina had an additional day,” Frese said. “And then you look at a game where we had multiple players play close to the entire 50 minutes. A lot of rest and reset for them.”

That hasn’t been the case for the coaches, who have had to balance game prep with the transfer portal opening on Tuesday. Frese later added that only the players got to rest – “little to no rest for us.”

Staley shrugged off the challenge, saying it’s just part of the job they have to deal with. She squeezed in phone calls with potential targets in between practices and press conferences on Thursday. 

“For us, the main thing at this point is trying to win another national championship,” Staley said. “The people that are in the portal, if they can’t really understand that, they probably aren’t ones that prioritizes winning a national championship. But you still have to do it. I’m going to call somebody when I leave here. A few people. Just because you’ve got to let them know, hey, we’re thinking about you. We got this run we’re trying to (go on), but you are a priority for us.”

5. Scouting the Terrapins
Maryland is, as usual, a high-scoring team. The Terapins average 81.0 points per game, 11th in the country. They shoot over 46% as a team and over 36% from three.

“They love to score,” Joyce Edwards said. “They love offense.”

Shyanne Sellers powers the offense, averaging 14.5 points and 4.1 assists per game. Kaylene Smikle is the leading scorer at 18.0 points, and Sarah Te-Biasu is an explosive shooter who averages 10.6 points.

“I think Brenda has this team, this is how she wants to play,” Staley said. “When you are able to play your style of play, you feel comfortable going into every basketball game. They will shoot the 3-ball. They will drive it down your throats. They have some bigs that can command the paint. They play up and down. They get up and down the floor. They want the game in the 80s and 90s and 100s if they can.”

Maryland has dealt with injuries this season. Top reserve Bri McDaniel was lost for the season in January, and Sellers has been playing on an injured knee for a couple of months.

The injuries have exacerbated Maryland’s defensive issues. Maryland gives up 70.5 points, 298th in the country. They have also allowed 90 points or more in four of their last eight games.

The Ws
Who: #1 South Carolina vs #4 Maryland
When: 5:00 pm ET, Friday, March 28
Where: Legacy Arena, Birmingham, AL
Watch: ESPN
Sendoff: 1:40 CT – Westin Hotel, 2221 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd N

Discuss South Carolina women’s basketball on The Insiders Forum!