South Carolina women's basketball: Matchups to watch
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Friday’s national semifinal game is billed as Aliyah Boston vs Caitlin Clark, but they won’t be going head-to-head. These are the three matchups to watch.
Monika Czinano vs Aliyah Boston and Kamilla Cardoso
This is the matchup that reminds us Iowa has to defend too.
Czinano may not start the game guarding Boston in order to keep her out of foul trouble. But when South Carolina plays Boston and Cardoso at the same time, Czinano will have to defend one of them.
“I’ve played against so many different style post players, so many different physicality levels, that I’m really excited for this opportunity,” Czinano said. “I think it’s going to be really fun. I love going against really great centers.”
Cardoso said they don’t have to change their approach to accomplish their objectives against Czinano.
“We’re going to play how we’ve played all year,” she said. “Just be who we are. Go out there and play defense like we’ve been playing all year long.”
If they can get Czinano in foul trouble, it’s a lot easier to defend her when she’s sitting on the bench. It also puts more pressure on Clark to create offense without her favorite target.
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Zia Cooke vs Gabbie Marshall
Marshall is shooting 37.6% from three this season, but she is capable of some impressive hot streaks. She shot 56% during the Big Ten Tournament, and 50% in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.
Marshall has cooled off and hit just 4-13 from behind the arc in Seattle. Did the defenses catch up to her or is she ready for a breakout game?
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With Caitlin Clark getting most of the attention, Marshall will probably be guarded by Cooke or Kierra Fletcher. On the other end, Marshall will have to guard Cooke, who is on a postseason tear. She scored 24 against Tennessee, 21 against USF, and 18 against Maryland.
“One thing that never wavers for me in the game is my defense,” Marshall said. “It’s one thing I can always control, my effort and energy on defense, and I think that’s going to be huge in this upcoming game.”
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Iowa bench vs South Carolina bench
Nobody in the country can match South Carolina’s depth. The Gamecocks get, essentially, half of their production from the bench.
South Carolina’s reserves average 90.6 minutes, 39.0 points, and 22.3 rebounds per game.
“The depth on their team is amazing,” Iowa’s Lisa Bluder said. “The height on their team is amazing.”
Iowa gets just 18.6 points from the bench and 13.5 rebounds from the bench. Nobody on South Carolina’s team averages over 26.3 minutes per game, but all of Iowa’s starters average at least 28.0 minutes. If Iowa has to rely on its bench, it is probably a bad omen.
“Absolutely. We’re going to try to get into their bench,” Bree Hall. “They don’t have as much depth as us, so we’re definitely going to attack.”
