South Carolina women's basketball: Senior profile - Brea Beal

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In November 2018, South Carolina signed the top-ranked recruiting class in the country. It was a group of five players (four scholarship and one walk-on) hailed as potentially the best signing class ever. 

Four years later, Laeticia Amihere, Brea Beal, Aliyah Boston, Zia Cooke, and Olivia Thompson have led South Carolina to the most successful period in program history and are on the verge of completing one of the most successful four-year runs in the history of the sport.

Part of what makes the 2019 class so special is that each member stayed all four years. They turned down the potential for greater individual accomplishments elsewhere to stay and win. On Sunday they will play their final home game.

This week GamecockCentral will recognize each member of that class. After recognizing Olivia Thompson and Laeticia Amihere, today we focus on bully ball herself, Brea Beal.

Brea Beal, #12, 6-1, Guard, Rock Island, Illinois

Bio:

In her four seasons, Beal has established herself as one of the best defensive players in the country. She typically guards the other team’s best perimeter player and almost always wins her matchup.

Beal’s accomplishments have often gone unappreciated outside of Columbia because she doesn’t score, but Gamecock fans never question her value.

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Then:

Beal figured out her role almost immediately. In just her eighth game, Beal drew the assignment of guarding Borislava Hristova, Washington State’s all-time leading scorer. 

On Washington State’s first two possessions, Beal forced Hristova into a tie-up, a missed shot, and a turnover. We didn’t know it yet, but Big Body Benz had arrived.

That game set the stage for a December in which each opponent brought an all-American candidate at wing. Beal shut down each one. Then the experts picked Rhyne Howard to go off and lead Kentucky to an upset over South Carolina. 

Instead, Beal ran circles around Howard and the Gamecocks humiliated the Wildcats, leaving coach Matthew Mitchell crawling around the court hopelessly.

Now:

Same.

Beal has played outstanding defense for four seasons and she is also finally getting the recognition she deserves for her defense. This season, she is giving up just 3.7 points per game. Beal has held her opponent scoreless eight times and only given up double digits twice.

As a senior, she improved her shooting and playmaking, becoming a legitimate threat on offense. Beal hit a crucial three-pointer against Stanford to give the Gamecocks life in the final minute.

The Sacrifice:

Beal was a three-time Illinois player of the year, joining the likes of Candace Parker for that distinction. She was also her conference’s all-time leading scorer. She didn’t have to be a player who barely gets five shot attempts per game.

Even after Beal’s defensive exploits became clear, she was repeatedly ignored for defensive honors in favor of players who were far less accomplished defenders but scored 18 points per game. On the rare occasions South Carolina featured her on offense, Beal delivered, proving she could be a first or second option.

Beal never chased that opportunity. She’s going to end her career with few awards or honors and fewer points, but lots of wins.

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FAM Favorite moment:

Louisville came into the Final Four game against South Carolina with momentum, and no player was hotter than Hailey Van Lith. Beal wasn’t impressed. 

She blocked Van Lith’s first two shot attempts, setting the tone for a game where Louisville’s offense could never get on track. Beal scored 12 points and only allowed four points, with both baskets coming after Van Lith appeared to travel.

It was the highlight of a tournament run in which Beal allowed just 29 points over six games, despite usually guarding the other team’s leading scorer, a run that finally got the rest of the country to recognize Beal’s ability.

My favorite moment:

I love watching defense, so I love watching Beal. There are so many great moments, from that December run, to the Kentucky game, to the time I swear she forced a turnover just by looking at her opponent, to her blocks on Van Lith, to the block on Hayley Jones at Stanford.

I’ll cheat and go with something that occurred after I posted the FAM poll. After she already blocked an Angel Reese layup, Beal decided to torment Kateri Poole. And she laughed the entire time.

i prefer this angle 🔥 https://t.co/fPy9qlSyfa pic.twitter.com/AxK9gGAmL9

— connecticut hate account (@nmacheaux) February 14, 2023

You rarely see Beal’s expression change, so it’s only fitting that her defense made her break.

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Legacy:

With no numbers to go off of, Beal’s legacy will someday fade into something only remembered by those who watched her play. And those who watched her play will insist to all the young’uns that they’ve never seen a player like Brea Beal.

You could argue that for much of her career, Beal was the second-best defensive player in the country, overshadowed by her teammate Aliyah Boston, the best defensive player in the country.

She’ll also be remembered for winning because there are a lot of games South Carolina would have lost without Beal.

Career stats:

128 games (127 starts), 6.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.8 bpg, 0.8 spg

Records:

• Most games in a season (27, 2021-22)

Awards:

• SEC Academic Honor Roll (2020, 2021, 2022)

Team accomplishments: 120-8 overall record, 55-1 home record, two SEC regular season championships, two SEC tournament championships, two Final Fours, 2020 consensus #1, 2022 national champions.

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