Gamecocks face different faces, same style with Tar Heels

No Diamond DeShields, who lit South Carolina for 17 and 19 points in two games last year? No Xylina McDaniel, the Columbia native who got out of state to help North Carolina keep fueling its dominance?

Why even show up? South Carolina might as well take Friday off and get ready for Florida State or Arizona State on Sunday. The Gamecocks’ Sweet 16 matchup is in the bag.

Right?

Nuh-uh.

“I think personnel, they’ve changed, but style of play, they play a certain way,” USC coach Dawn Staley said on Wednesday.

And the Tar Heels’ way is to run, shoot quickly, force turnovers and overwhelm from the tip. It’s a style that’s served them well during coach Sylvia Hatchell’s long reign, and one that’s put fourth-seeded UNC back into the Sweet 16 with the top-seeded Gamecocks.

Nobody in Columbia needed reminding how that style worked against USC last year -- when UNC won 65-58 in the Sweet 16 -- and how even without two stars, the Tar Heels are still around – and again in position to end the Gamecocks’ season.

“They rely on you turning the ball over by playing at their tempo,” Staley said. “For us, it’s familiar when playing against UNC -- we just have to make adjustments. We have to play to our strength, and our strength isn’t always playing fast. It’s playing calculated.”

UNC might actually be better than last year’s team, which bowed out to Stanford in the Elite Eight. The Tar Heels were led by National Freshman of the Year DeShields, part of a ballyhooed rookie class that combined with several veterans to win 26 games. Most figured UNC would be a lock for Hatchell’s fourth Final Four in 2015.

Then DeShields surprised the country by asking for her release, eventually transferring to Tennessee, where she sat out this season. She never explained why she was leaving.

The Tar Heels were stung but not without hope – Stephanie Mavunga and Allisha Gray helmed a strong team with senior point guard Latifah Coleman, and the bruising McDaniel was still a force in the middle.

McDaniel went down with a lower leg injury in December and hasn’t played since.

UNC didn’t panic or make excuses. Mavunga and Gray took on more of the scoring and leadership burdens, the bench began playing more minutes and the Tar Heels again were in the NCAA tournament as a four-seed.

Staley isn’t taking anything lightly, despite DeShields and McDaniel not around. All that means is there are more players to keep an eye on.

Gray leads the team with 15.9 points per game. Mavunga averages 14.5, had 33 in two games against USC last year and had 18 in the first half against Ohio State.

“She’s deadly on the block. Her outside shot is pretty consistent,” Staley said. “When a player gets into a zone like she was the last time out, it’ll be pretty hard. We got to run a lot of players at her.”

UNC has a lot of familiar faces who are playing more minutes, while USC has a lot of new faces the Tar Heels haven’t seen in person. Staley knows how the Tar Heels will try to play, and she knows how she wants her team to play.

Being aggressive and hungry from the tip, as the Gamecocks were against Syracuse, is imperative.

As for wanting to get back at UNC for last year, it could creep into a few heads.

“Not necessarily saying that,” guard Tina Roy said. “This is another team in our way.”

This story was originally published March 26, 2015 at 9:35 AM with the headline "Gamecocks face different faces, same style with Tar Heels."