South Carolina women's basketball: Gamecocks' title defense begins with a rout
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South Carolina began its quest for back-to-back national championships with a 101-31 rout of East Tennessee State.
ETSU played South Carolina close for about three minutes, and then the Gamecocks took over. South Carolina finished the first quarter on a 24-1 run and then started the second quarter on a 9-0 run.
The Gamecocks were relentless, maintaining pressure for four quarters. They outscored the Bucs 29-6 in the first quarter, 26-6 in the second, 25-13 in the third, and 21-6 in the fourth.
Dawn Staley experimented with a few different looks, but mostly relied on lineups she is likely to use Friday against Maryland. Raven Johnson started at point guard, alongside returning starters Zia Cooke, Brea Beal, Victaria Saxton, and Aliyah Boston.
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Johnson and backup Kierra Fletcher were limited to about three minutes of action at a time, but both were impressive. Fletcher had three points and three rebounds in nine minutes while playing tough defense. Johnson looked like she isn’t quite back to full speed, but she reminded everyone why she was the national player of the year as a high school senior. Johnson played 17 minutes and had nine points, four assists, four steals, and two rebounds.
“I wasn’t nervous at all,” Johnson said. “I was very excited.”
“Raven’s fearless,” Dawn Staley said. “She just plays. She doesn’t think about her knee unless her knee brace strap comes loose, and then we have to remind her that it’s loose. She’s a young point guard that has a great feel for the game. There are certain things that she does that are just seamless. She puts the ball where (her teammates) should have it instead of where they want it.”
South Carolina also got typical production from its veterans. Cooke led all scorers with 17 points. Boston had another double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds in just 20 minutes. Beal played relentless defense and looked comfortable setting up the offense on a few occasions. Saxton and Kamilla Cardoso hustled around the basket and scored 11 points each.
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The fourth quarter belonged to Sania Feagin and freshman Ashlyn Watkins. Feagin had 15 points on 7-9 shooting to go with six rebounds. Watkins had 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and two blocks. But what was most impressive was their ability to make defensive plays in the paint and then lead the break (frequently finding each other for layups). Watkins played 18 minutes and Feagin played 15, and Staley said figuring out how to get them playing time with the “logjam” in the front court is one of her biggest challenges going forward.
“I don’t know. We’ve got to find (time). Today Feagin was the first post off the bench and then in the third quarter I chose to go with Ashlyn as the first post off the bench, but then Feagin is sitting,” Staley said. “It’s going to be a give-and-take. What’s really important is we find a way to get them the ball and reward them for running.”
South Carolina shot 53% from the floor while holding ETSU to 18% shooting. The Gamecocks were 6-23 from three and 21-30 from the line. South Carolina only committed nine turnovers, but had 28 points off 22 ETSU turnovers and had a 37-0 advantage in fast break point. South Carolina was +29 rebounding.
“We’re outmatched size-wise,” ETSU coach Brenda Mock Brown said. “SEC teams are outmatched by South Carolina, so ETSU is going to be outmatched.”
Notes:
Prior to the game South Carolina unveiled its 2021-22 national championship banner and the team received its national and SEC championship rings. Destanni Henderson and LeLe Grissett returned to receive their rings. … The practice players received their rings between the first and second quarters. Support staff received their rings at halftime. … Sophomore Bree Hall missed the game recovering from an illness. She started in the exhibition against Benedict. … Laeticia Amihere played after returning home due to a death in the family. She only made one basket, but it put the Gamecocks over the century mark. … Olivia Thompson was the only Gamecock that did not score. … Aliyah Boston braids report: purple with electric blue tips. … Fit report: Staley wore a black sweatshirt with Brittney Griner’s face, name, and number. She got the sweatshirt from Griner’s agent. … Announced attendance was 12,779. … South Carolina’s next game is Friday at Maryland.
