South Carolina women's basketball: Five Things to Watch - South Dakota State
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1. Point guard
Raven Johnson ditched the knee brace against Liberty and looked like a brand-new player. She was quick, decisive, and efficient.
It was a welcome sight for fans and coaches – and Johnson – who have been patiently waiting for her to return to the form that earned her national player of the year honors as a high school senior.
Now, Dawn Staley wants to see Johnson take the next step in becoming an elite point guard.
“I’d like to see Raven change speeds and not play at one speed,” Staley said after the Liberty game. “She’s got to be able to control her speed. It’s hard to get players to play at the pace that she plays at, but it’s probably a little bit harder to get her to slow down a little bit so that she can operate a little bit better with her entire skill set. She can pass the ball, but if you’re only going one speed you can only throw a pass one way.”
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2. Why Sioux Falls?
South Carolina plays at the Sanford Pentagon for the third consecutive season, and the Gamecocks’ history in Sioux Falls also includes a disappointing performance in the 2016 NCAA tournament (at a different venue).
Despite the opponent, the matchup is a neutral site game. South Dakota State is located in Brookings, South Dakota, about an hour due north of Sioux Falls (Seriously, it’s a straight line on Google Maps. You’ve got to love highways in the Great Plains.). Hat-tip to Matt Zimmer of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader for this: South Carolina has played more games at the Sanford Pentagon (three) than South Dakota State (two).
But why do the Gamecocks keep defying the weather (“Usually, when we go there it’s snowing, it’s some type of blizzard,” Staley said) and going back?
Superstition.
Since South Carolina has started playing South Dakota and South Dakota State, the Gamecocks have finished a season ranked no. 1, gone to a Final Four, ad won a national championship.
“So it’s more of a superstition thing now,” Staley said. “We’ve got to play there. It gives us an opportunity to do some big things in the postseason.”
Johnson probably doesn’t share the same fond memories of Sioux Falls. It was at the Sanford Pentagon last year that she suffered her season-ending knee injury. There will probably be some emotions for Johnson. Staley hasn’t talked to Johnson, but if she does she will remind Johnson that her own first experience in Sioux Falls was an unhappy one as well.
“I didn’t bring it up to her,” Staley said. “I want Raven to just be who she is. I think Raven is in a much better place mentally than even before the injury. She probably was second-guessing herself. But she’s in a much, much different place. Hopefully, she can exorcize that demon like we did when we lost in South Dakota back in 2016. If I need to have a conversation with her, I’ll utilize our 2016 debacle and she could replace it with some positive experiences.”
3. Better bench play
Like Johnson, Sania Feagin had a big game against Liberty. The sophomore forward had 14 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks against Liberty, one point shy of tying her career-high in each category.
Staley raved about Feagin after the game, calling her the most talented post on the team. Then came the bad part.
“We have to get our bench stronger,” Staley said. “There are certain players that we rely on that do their job. We need probably a couple more to add to that, just in case we need them. We will need them at some point just because our league is so tough.”
To her point: 40 of Feagin’s 60 points this season have come in three games, and she didn’t play against Cal Poly. Feagin is the most intriguing, but she isn’t alone.
Staley included Johnson, Bree Hall, and the freshmen Ashlyn Watkins and Talaysia Cooper as players who need to get more consistent. But Feagin is the one player who could have an immediate impact every time she steps on the floor.
“I want to see them get better,” Staley continued. “It doesn’t have to be something lavish, it just has to be Sania Feagin defending a little bit better, it could be her rim running, running down the floor so we can get her some rim-run baskets.”
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4. Chloe Kitts
In case you missed it, freshman forward Chloe Kitts joined the team this week. The 17th-ranked player in the 2023 class, Kitts opted to skip her senior year and enroll midseason. Staley talked about the plans for Kitts, and you can catch up on what she said HERE.
5. Scouting the Jackrabbits
It’s the reigning NCAA tournament champions versus the reigning WNIT champions!
South Dakota State is used to playing giant killers this season. The Jackrabbits beat then-no. 4 Louisville in November and no. 24 Kansas State last week. They also have a pair of close, quality losses to Creighton and UCLA.
South Dakota State plays a more deliberate pace than South Carolina. Like Creighton or South Dakota, the Jackrabbits try to be patient and efficient.
“They know what they want, they’re good at what they do,” Staley said. “They spread you out, they post up, they can shoot the three, they read defenses extremely well. They’re patient enough to wait for your defense to have a lapse, and then they somehow make you pay for it. They do that time and time again.”
Like those other teams, South Dakota State has a bunch of veteran, almost interchangeable players. Myah Selland is the leading scorer at 15.3 points per game, and is one of three players averaging between 5.8 and 6.0 rebounds per game.
All five starters are between 5-10 and 6-1. That puts South Dakota State at a size disadvantage in the post, but allows coach Aaron Johnston to mix and match lineups.
“We’re going to try to outfox each other and come out with a big win because it will be a big win on either part,” Staley said.
South Dakota State is ranked 51st in the NET rankings, dragged down by a pair of bizarre losses to Washington State and Montana State.
The Ws
Who: #1 South Carolina (9-0) vs South Dakota State (7-4)
When: 7:00 pm, Thursday, December 15
Where: Sanford Pentagon, Sioux Falls, SD
Watch: ESPN2
