South Carolina women's basketball: Why the Gamecocks are best when they run
South Carolina’s transition offense has been the difference for the Gamecocks this season, a fact that was on display against Duke. Why are the Gamecocks so good in transition?
I wrote about transition offense ahead of the Duke game.
The Gamecocks had 21 fast break points and 30 points off 19 turnovers against Iowa State. Against Purdue, it was 28 fast break points and 32 points off 20 turnovers.
South Carolina’s best game prior to the Florida trip was a 95-44 win against East Carolina. In that game, South Carolina had 33 fast break points and 40 points off 27 turnovers.
In the other five games, the Gamecocks averaged just 7.8 fast break points and 15.0 points off 16.6 turnovers. So the defense was still forcing turnovers; the Gamecocks just weren’t converting them into easy points.
What did South Carolina do against Duke? Somewhere in the middle.
The Gamecocks had 14 fast break points and 14 points off 10 turnovers in the first half. They scored 51 points and led by 20 at halftime.
“I thought we did a really good job in the first of taking advantage of numbers when we had them,” Dawn Staley said.
The second half was a different story. South Carolina still had nine points off eight turnovers but only had two fast break points. Duke won the half 39-30. Duke’s Kara Lawson said it shouldn’t be a surprise that the more teams get in transition, the better they do.
“It’s most teams,” she said. “It’s not like it’s a huge revelation. Most teams play better on the run, right? In transition, you’re playing with pace. You may get numbers. You pass ahead, you cut.”
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The numbers paint a clear picture of the results, but what makes South Carolina so good in transition?
One reason is athleticism. Few teams have the same kind of athletes South Carolina has. It’s a testament to Molly Binetti’s sports performance program. MiLaysia Fulwiley can run the ¾ court sprint in 2.98 seconds. Edwards is right behind at 3.00.
Fulwiley also has a 32.8-inch vertical. Watkins, who has dunked in games, has a 29-inch vertical. Three other Gamecocks have at least a 23-inch vertical. The open court is kind to those kinds of athletes.
And that is, essentially, the other reason South Carolina is so good in transition. South Carolina goes two deep at every position. Staley is always able to put fresh legs on the court that can wear down the opposition.
South Carolina also has multiple ballhandlers who can lead the break. It’s not just the guards but also forwards Chloe Kitts, Sania Feagin, Joyce Edwards, and Ashlyn Watkins. When every player on the court is capable of turning defense into offense, it puts tremendous pressure on the other team.
The Gamecocks just need to make the defensive stops to get into transition.
