South Carolina women's basketball Rapid Reaction: #5 Texas
#2 South Carolina dominated #5 Texas for a 67-50 win. Here’s what stood out to me from the game.
– About this time last year, Sania Feagin took her game up a level. She seems to be doing the same thing this year. She had eight points, nine rebounds, and a career-high six blocks despite being significantly undersized and hit with some suspect fouls.
It’s almost hard to remember that Feagin was once a defensive liability, and that was only a year ago. She has become a solid defender and emotional rock for the Gamecocks.
“She’s just giving it up on both sides of the basketball,” Dawn Staley said. “Once a player has a breakthrough of not putting obstacles in front of them, they just have the breakthrough. She had a pretty good game from a statistical standpoint, but all the other stuff, the intangibles.”
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– In big games, Staley always tightens the rotation and leans a little more on her veterans. That was the case on Sunday, with Feagin and Raven Johnson each playing over 30 minutes. The rotation was trimmed to eight players, plus Maryam Dauda and Adhel Tac, who only played nine total minutes.
The veterans responded. Feagin was great. Chloe Kitts outplayed the Longhorns’ forwards, and Bree Hall had probably her best game of the season, with seven points, four rebounds, and fantastic defense.
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“It’s a collective effort,” Staley said. “It’s a collection of our seniors, the ones who have been here a long time. They know.”
South Carolina’s bench mob still contributed. Joyce Edwards had 10 points and flashes of brilliance but was limited by foul trouble. MiLaysia Fulwiley created havoc. And Tessa Johnson only got two shots, but hit a big jumper to answer a run and drew three fouls.
– I try not to get too wrapped up in the officiating. The officials are human and they miss calls. Plus those missed calls mostly even out over the game. But the officiating on Sunday was terrible. The best thing that can be said is that it was terrible on both sides so it didn’t really affect the outcome of the game.
Eric Brewton was especially awful. He repeatedly made the wrong call, often from the other side of the court. He’s notorious for phantom offensive foul calls, but those were only part of the problem on Sunday.
It was embarrassing to see in one of the biggest games of the season.
