Gamecocks wary of lurking LSU
A’ja Wilson is feeling better after getting the cast off her right ankle and jogging during practice on Friday.
There’s still no guarantee she’ll play, or if she’ll be as effective as usual if she plays. So fifth-ranked South Carolina, after a scare against Georgia, knows it has another significant hurdle in front of it on Sunday.
“They gamble. Once you gamble, sometimes you hit big,” coach Dawn Staley said of the next opponent, LSU. “They just keep you on your toes.”
The Tigers (14-3, 3-1 SEC) are playing well, forcing nearly 15 turnovers per game with eight of their top 10 players having at least 15 steals.
When the Gamecocks are used to playing through the post, and know half of that post may be gimpy or missing, it’s a concern.
“It’ll be very important,” point guard Tyasha Harris said. “That’s one of our keys to win, actually, so we’re going to emphasize that and take care of the ball and get the ball where it needs to be.”
USC had to find offense wherever it could against Georgia, and not just because Wilson was out. Kaela Davis twice left the court for various maladies and couldn’t throw the ball into the ocean when she was on it. Alaina Coates had a stomach bug, something that might have nixed Doniyah Cliney from practice on Friday as well (Cliney is expected to be available on Sunday).
Allisha Gray was effective playing power forward, but she only played eight minutes of the first half, Staley trying to light a fire under her by putting her on the bench. What saved the Gamecocks was Bianca Cuevas-Moore noticing nobody paying her any attention, and once she got two shots to go, many more to the tune of 25 points went.
It was an ugly performance, but a winning one. The Gamecocks (14-1, 4-0), attempting to stay on top of the SEC before the biggest conference game of the season on Jan. 23, are hoping to fine-tune their yips against Georgia so when Wilson is 100 percent, they’re that much better.
Friday’s mood at practice was loose despite no Wilson, Cliney or Tiffany Davis. Staley refused to paint a gloomy picture, even with the question of Wilson’s availability.
The problem wasn’t missing personnel, it wasn’t following up a strong first quarter.
“I thought we expended a lot of energy in the first quarter and just didn’t play energized the rest of the way,” Staley said. “I thought Bianca gave us a really good lift.”
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No. 5 USC (14-1, 4-0 SEC) at LSU (14-3, 3-1)
When: 3 p.m. Sunday
Where: Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, La.
TV: SEC Network Plus Radio: 107.5 FM
South Carolina’s probable starters: G Tyasha Harris 5-10 Fr. (5.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg); G Allisha Gray 6-0 Jr. (12.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg); G Kaela Davis 6-2 Jr. (13.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg); G Doniyah Cliney 6-0 So. (2.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg); C Alaina Coates 6-4 Sr. (14.1 ppg, 10.6 rpg)
LSU’s probable starters: G Rina Hill (6.1 ppg, 1.7 rpg); G Raigyne Moncrief (14.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg); G Chloe Mitchell (14.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg); F Alexis Hyder (8.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg); F Ayana Mitchell (8.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
Next game: South Carolina hosts Ole Miss at 7 p.m. on Thursday
This story was originally published January 14, 2017 at 10:00 PM with the headline "Gamecocks wary of lurking LSU."