Perimeter defense, not revenge, on South Carolina’s mind as Arkansas comes to town
The last time South Carolina women’s basketball faced Arkansas, the Razorbacks seemed to be little more than a minor obstacle in the Gamecocks’ pursuit of a fifth consecutive SEC tournament title, compared to the likes of Mississippi State, Kentucky and Texas A&M.
Instead, No. 10 seed Arkansas stunned USC in the tournament quarterfinals, winning 95-89 and scoring the most points the Gamecocks have allowed in an SEC game under coach Dawn Staley.
Flash forward 10 months and one day, and the two teams will meet again this Thursday at Colonial Life Arena. South Carolina’s players and coaches say, however, that revenge for last season’s game won’t be on their mind.
“I remember a lot, but we’re not even gonna bring up last year, because it’s a new year, we got a new team and they have a new team, and we’re gonna see how that goes,” senior guard Tyasha Harris said.
Even without the weight of that tournament upset, Thursday’s matchup will carry plenty of importance. The No. 4 Gamecocks will have a chance to pick up yet another ranked win over the No. 21 Razorbacks and keep pace in the early going of the race for the SEC regular season title. And of course, with freshmen playing such a large role on this year’s squad, there’s not a ton of carry over for Carolina from last March.
“We got a totally different basketball team. We just want to win this game and protect our home court advantage and win the game. It would be a good, solid win for us,” Staley said.
Arkansas also only returns two starters from last year’s team. One of them, though, is guard Chelsea Dungee, who averages 19.7 points per game and lit up USC for 63 combined points in two meetings last season.
“She can score it. Three-way scorer. She’s tough, she’s got some pizzazz to her,” Staley said. “She can score a lot of different ways. She’ll probe it, she’s got a couple moves with her. She’s not just a straight driver. There’s more to her. She sets up her shot well.”
Dungee leads a Razorback squad that leads the SEC in 3-pointers attempted and made, averaging more than 26 tries and 10 makes per game. Arkansas is also one of only three teams in the nation to shoot higher than 38% on 3-pointers while also attempting 350 of them on the year.
That offensive style is something Carolina prepped for in its last game against Alabama, which shot 8-of-16 from beyond the arc against the Gamecocks.
“They banged a lot of 3s on us ... and Arkansas just takes it to another level, because probably 45% of their shots are coming from 3, and it’s coming from everybody, people coming off the bench, everybody except their 5 player,” Staley said. “So you pretty much guard them outside of the 3 and make them put the ball on the floor, make them 2 us rather than 3 us.”
South Carolina ranks 118th in the nation and eighth in the SEC in 3-point defense, with opponents shooting 29.5%. When opponents have had success from long range, it’s generally spelled trouble for Staley’s squad. But with it being the main focus of her defense heading into Thursday’s game, Staley expressed guarded optimism.
“When it’s had to be, yeah, when it’s a point of emphasis, yes,” Staley said when asked if she was pleased with her team’s perimeter defense. “When it’s not, people make 3s on us, so it’s been a point of emphasis for us over the past two days and hopefully it’ll hold serve. They average about 12 of them, so that’s tough.”
Defensively speaking, Staley said there won’t be much carryover from what South Carolina did against No. 13 Kentucky last week. But the Gamecocks attacked Kentucky star Rhyne Howard with a variety of defensive rotations and styles, and Dungee will probably get the same treatment.
“I think we’re gonna try to give her different looks and see how she does with that,” Harris said.
WHEN DO THE GAMECOCKS PLAY NEXT?
Who: No. 4 South Carolina (14-1, 2-0 SEC) vs. No. 20 Arkansas (13-2, 1-1)
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: Colonial Life Arena
Watch: Streaming online on SEC Network Plus via WatchESPN
Listen: 107.5 FM in Columbia area
