South Carolina women's basketball Rapid Reaction: Mississippi State
South Carolina overcame an early 11-point deficit to rout Mississippi State 95-68. Here’s what stood out from the game.
– It’s too early to know what the prognosis is for Ashlyn Watkins. Dawn Staley said after the game that Watkins did not have to leave the arena and received treatment in the locker room.
If Watkins misses extended time it becomes a huge issue for the Gamecocks. She is their best rebounder and shot-blocker, and can be counted on to score a few buckets every game. If she does miss time, there are a few players the Gamecocks could look at to step up.
Chloe Kitts is one of those players. Adhel Tac and Maryam Dauda are others Tac and Dauda have shown improvement lately and it could be time to get one of them into the rotation.
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– Kitts stepped up on Sunday, contributing a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double along with four assists. Kitts has seen her playing time dip recently, but that had more to do with Watkins and Joyce Edwards playing well, plus Staley trying to get a look at Dauda and Tac in the fourth quarter.
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Kitts can’t replace Watkins’ defense or shot-blocking, but she is a more polished offensive player. South Carolina is a different-looking team with Kitts or Watkins on the floor, not necessarily better or worse.
– South Carolina had a season-low eight assists against Missouri. Ball movement was apparently a point of emphasis because South Carolina had 20 assists on 35 baskets against Mississippi State.
It takes two to make an assist work. Not only did the Gamecocks do a nice job passing to open players, they did a great job of finding the open spots in the defense and making themselves available for the pass.
Tessa Johnson stood out as being really good at getting to the open spots. Te-Hina Paopao is also good at creating open spaces. Teams have to close out on her behind the arc, which spaces the floor, and Paopao has improved at driving the ball and collapsing the defense to create more space.
