Staley seeks improvement on South Carolina’s beach trip
Speaking where the Columbia Inferno once played, Dawn Staley channeled their game.
“We’re calling it the hockey assists,” she said. “The ability to screen for some other people, get other people open. To make life easier for everybody out there on the floor. I think we have to make a conscious effort to box out for this East Carolina game and moving forward.”
South Carolina, second-ranked and 10-0, has won all of its games but hasn’t displayed the dominance expected of a team with such a lofty rating. Leading scorer A’ja Wilson’s absence the past two games (she will play Sunday) has affected USC’s usual game, but nobody was using that as an excuse.
Staley has constantly said that this year’s team isn’t last year’s squad that posted a 34-3 record that included a trip to the Final Four and was the SEC champions. Still, the Gamecocks have plenty of talent which shouldn’t be fighting itself so much.
So, recent practices have been about working on the details. Staley’s harping defense and fine-tuning stuff that never shows in stat sheets. Heading to Myrtle Beach to play the Pirates in conjunction with the Beach Ball Classic, she said she’s hoping the Gamecocks improve – and not just because Wilson is returning.
“It really killed me on the inside, but I think the staff did what’s best for me,” Wilson said of sitting out the past two games to rest nagging injuries. “I wanted to play … oh, goodness, I hate sitting. It feels great to be back on the court.”
The game’s expected, like most away from Colonial Life Arena, to feel like a home game. It’s the first of three this season where USC is sponsoring a bus trip for fans, and two buses for 76 fans have been secured (with several expected walk-ups). The Pirates are also coming to the beach as the final game of a quirky schedule – three games in three days, with the first two in Wilmington, N.C.
Advantage for a USC team that hasn’t played since Wednesday?
“We haven’t even mentioned it,” Staley said. “For us, it’s about us. It’s hard to play three games in a row, but the way that we’ve been practicing, it’s going to be like we played three games in a row.”
NO. 2 SOUTH CAROLINA (10-0) vs. EAST CAROLINA (6-5)
What: CresCom Bank Carolinas College Women’s Challenge
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: Myrtle Beach Convention Center
Tickets: Available at the box office
East Carolina’s probable starters: G Jada Payne 6-2 Sr. (21.3 ppg, 10.3 rpg); G Khadidja Toure 5-9 Jr. (9.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg); F Marina Laramie 6-2 Jr. (11.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg); F I’Tiana Taylor 6-1 Sr. (12.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg); F DeVaughn Gray 5-11 Sr. (8.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
South Carolina’s probable starters: G Khadijah Sessions 5-8 Sr. (5.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg); G Tiffany Mitchell 5-9 Sr. (13.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg); G Asia Dozier 6-0 Sr. (3.5 ppg, 1.0 rpg); F A’ja Wilson 6-5 So. (18.4 ppg, 9.3 rpg); C Alaina Coates 6-4 Jr. (13.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg)
Next game: USC will host Elon at 7 p.m. on Tuesday
This story was originally published December 19, 2015 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Staley seeks improvement on South Carolina’s beach trip."