Three takeaways from Clemson’s 2021 basketball opener against USC Upstate
Clemson opened the season with a 64-47 win over USC Upstate on Wednesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.
While the Tigers have several new pieces, the group thrived in its returning experience and had no problem creating separation from the Spartans. They went up by as many as 20 points for a 64-44 advantage with less than a minute left in regulation.
Clemson had a little bit of falloff in the third quarter, but bounced back in the fourth, holding Upstate to two points in the first five minutes of the final frame.
“Very much a first game of the season,” Clemson head coach Amanda Butler said. “There were obvious bright spots. There were obvious things to build on and a ton of things we’ve got to get better at. I thought that we didn’t do the job we needed to do as a rebounding unit. We really should’ve been a bigger margin between us and them with that.”
Here are three takeaways from the Tigers’ season opener against the Spartans.
Applying pressure
The season has barely started, but it seems the Tigers’ defense seems to be their calling card after one game. The team scored 21 points in the first half off 15 turnovers from the Spartans to hold the 44-29 lead at the midpoint.
Kiara Lewis played a big part in that effort with five steals, most of which came from her press defense. In the final six minutes of the first half, the Syracuse transfer stole ball on the inbounds pass two times and scored on each opportunity.
“That was huge,” Butler said. “We really wanted to set the tone with our pressure; we did. It was just unfortunately a little inconsistent at moments. Nunu Bradford’s another great tone setter for us in terms of ball pressure, but got in a little foul trouble and that’s one of her areas of growth that we’re trying to really help her stay on the floor longer because she can really be a problem on both ends of the floor.”
Blending youth and experience
Although Lewis may be new to the team, she’s gained plenty of experience during her time at Syracuse and Ohio State.
“This is my third school, but I think I picked the best for last,” she said. “It was just fun to be out there, just be playing again. I was granted a sixth year and I decided to come here because I’ve seen what coach Butler has envisioned and I knew that she would get me to the place that I want to be after this. I’m just excited I get to spend my last year here.”
Additionally, Delicia Washington returned to Clemson for a final year to continue developing while also helping to lead younger players.
The two guards paced the offense while freshman forward Eno Inyant made her debut at Clemson by contributing to the Tigers’ rebounding effort with a team-best 10 boards along with four blocks in 14 minutes played.
“That’s pretty impressive for any freshman in any game,” Butler said. “She’s got to improve defensively but she impacted the game when she was in there.”
Team of shooters
If there’s one thing the Tigers don’t lack, it’s scoring options.
Clemson had four players with double-digit scoring performances in Lewis (10), Washington (14), Nunu Bradford (16) and Amari Robinson (12). As a team, the group shot 43.9% from the field and 30.8% from 3-point range.
Up next
Who: Clemson vs. Columbia
When: Noon, Sunday
Where: Littlejohn Coliseum
Streaming: ACC Network Extra
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 9:22 PM.
