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

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1. Double-double

Aliyah Boston is one double-double away from tying Sheila Foster for the South Carolina career record. Foster’s record of 72 double-doubles is one of South Carolina’s longest-standing records.

Boston entered the season needing 12 double-doubles to tie, although it has taken a little longer than expected. When I asked Boston in December if she knew how close she was, she had no idea.

“When we make a big stink out of things, like the double-double streak, quite naturally she’s going to get into it,” Dawn Staley said. “But I don’t think she’s thinking about it. If she is thinking about it she doesn’t let us know. She’ll probably play towards it, but she’s not going to say anything out loud.”

“The only thing she said when she first got here was, I want to be Aliyah Boston,” Staley continued. “And boy-oh-boy, she’s Aliyah Boston. She made a name for herself.”

2. Hollywood

Speaking of making a name for herself, Raven Johnson has started to live up to her “Hollywood nickname. Johnson’s talent was well-known, and she had flashed her potential all season.

But as Staley likes to say, the challenge isn’t making plays, it’s making plays consistently. Over the past couple of weeks, Johnson appears to have turned that corner.

Beginning with the Auburn game, Johnson is averaging  6.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.5 steals. She’s also shooting 58.8% from the floor and 4-8 from three. It was no coincidence that the big runs against Mississippi State, Kentucky, and Missouri all came with Johnson in the game.

Johnson’s quickness and splashy passes get the attention, but Staley said Johnson’s consistency has improved because she studies Kierra Fletcher.

“Raven Johnson is an elite passer,” Staley said. “I think Raven’s become a better manager of the game, setting up, slowing down, and running our sets, because she sees Kierra and they’ve got a really strong relationship.”

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3. Start fast

This is a familiar refrain, but it is especially appropriate against Vanderbilt. South Carolina needs to start fast and put the game out of reach early. 

When Staley was asked Wednesday about starting faster, she took issue with the notion that South Carolina has been starting slowly. 

“We’re going to get people’s best shot. The attendance is way up for a regular home game,” Staley said. “We are who we are. This is the habit that we have. I don’t know how much we could change that because our practices start off really fast. We get in the game and we have to take their punches and see where it is and utilize our depth to wear people down.”

She’s right, of course. South Carolina didn’t start particularly slowly against Kentucky or Missouri, it just took a quarter or two to pull away.

Perhaps a tennis analogy is more appropriate. Against Georgia and Mississippi State, South Carolina had its serve broken a few times early and maybe even dropped a set (depending on how detailed you choose to make this analogy). Since then South Carolina has held serve early while the opponent gives its best shot, and then turned up the pressure.

At any rate, Vanderbilt has proven it can hang around against opponents, so better to take control early.

4. Feagin update

Sania Feagin will not play against Vanderbilt, though she made the trip. It will be the fourth consecutive game Feagin has missed with a lower right leg injury.

“She’s getting closer,” Staley said. She added that they are now targeting Sunday’s game against Arkansas for Feagin to return. 

In Feagin’s absence, Ashlyn Watkins saw increased playing time against Missouri, playing a career-high 26 minutes. She scored an SEC-high 13 points and grabbed six rebounds. 

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5. Scouting the Commodores

Shea Ralph appeared to have some momentum going into her second season, but Vanderbilt has been decimated by injuries. The Commodores entered the season with just nine healthy players, and they are down to eight following the departure of Amauri Williams. 

Despite everything stacked against them, Vanderbilt has not been an easy out for opponents. Tennessee only won by 13, and Arkansas needed a buzzer-beater Monday night to escape.

“They score, that’s one. And two they play really hard,” Staley said. “They’ve got a depleted roster so they are more amped up.”

Graduate transfer Ciaja Harbison is second in the SEC, scoring 19.0 points per game. She excels at getting to the rim – Harbison is second in the SEC in free throws made, and she shoots a league-leading 83.5% when she gets to the line.

Marnelle Garraud, another graduate transfer, averages 14.0 points and leads the SEC in three-pointers made. 

Forward Sacha Washington averages 10.1 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds, but she will be severely ovematched in the paint. In an 85-30 rout last season, South Carolina outrebounded Vanderbilt 48-19 and held a 44-4 advantage in points in the paint.

Zia Cooke was held out of last season’s game with a sore foot, the only missed game of her career, so you can bet she is itching to face the Commodores.

The Ws

Who: #1 South Carolina (18-0, 6-0) at Vanderbilt (9-10, 0-5)

When: 7:00 pm, Thursday, January 19

Where: Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, TN

Watch: SEC Network

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