‘It’s one thing to have talent,’ but Gamecocks show something more in win over MSU
Dawn Staley saw it all in the huddle.
Whether things were going well or poorly for South Carolina women’s basketball against Mississippi State on Monday, the huddle was the key.
At times, things got testy, when the No. 1 Gamecocks failed to stop drive after drive into the lane by the No. 9 Bulldogs for easy layups. There were some uncharacteristic mistakes too — three turnovers in the final 90 seconds of the third quarter, a three-minute scoreless stretch to start the fourth, as MSU build a nine-point lead.
“It got pretty heated, it got pretty heated in timeouts. I got pretty heated with our players because we weren’t executing the way we normally executed, and a lot of it had to do with fatigue,” Staley acknowledged afterward.
But as heated as it got, Staley saw what she needed to see — determination.
“We’re really just encouraging each other and making sure we stay focused, because we can’t really get in our own heads, because then that automatically takes us out of game,” freshman forward Aliyah Boston said of the mood in those huddles. “We’re just saying, ‘Keep going, crash the boards, we’re going to make big plays.’”
“That’s really good to know that your players never think they’re out the basketball games, they never sulk,” Staley said.
And sure enough, Carolina stormed back to pull off an 81-79 win, its third top-10 win of the season and by far its closest. Staley has said before that the maturity of her star freshmen has become routine for her. And in by far the biggest test of the year to date, that poise stuck despite some struggles on the floor.
“We’re still a work in progress. Obviously you see by our inability to defend the paint as well as we need to. But we’re building character. Teams that have to deal with some type of adversity like we did, you’re building character, and for me, they’re building trust in us as a coaching staff,” Staley said.
Through 19 games, the freshmen have encountered many milestones: first home game, first road game, first loss, first conference game. Monday marked yet another — first down-to-the-wire contest, in front of the biggest crowd to watch a women’s college basketball game this season.
And they played a key role in that win, with Boston scoring seven in a row in the fourth quarter and collecting a double-double, and Cooke adding five points and the game-sealing steal.
To be sure, there were wobbles and areas to improve on, but Staley saw a squad tough enough for the challenge in the huddle, especially with veteran leadership from senior guard Tyasha Harris.
“It wasn’t like the coaching staff saying, ‘Believe, believe, believe,’” in the huddle, Staley said. “No, it was them. I just kind of sat back and just listened to what was being said in the huddle. Ty was leading the charge, and that’s always good when your peer is the one that’s in the timeout, in the huddle saying, ‘We got this.’”
On the opposing bench, Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer praised that resiliency. It’s a quality he saw some of in his own team and needs even as the Bulldogs attempt to move on from a crushing loss. It’s also a quality he saw in the championship Tennessee teams coached by the legendary Pat Summitt. That’s the second time this year a rival SEC coach has compared the Gamecocks to title-winning squads, after Arkansas’ Mike Neighbors did so less a week and a half ago.
“You watch them on film, and you’re so impressed. It’s one thing to have talent. There’s lots of sports teams that have talent, but they can’t get them, number one, to play together, number two, to play hard. They’re all out there and they just want to play cool,” Schaefer said. “That team (South Carolina) plays hard. They are physical, they are tough.”
WHEN DO THE GAMECOCKS PLAY NEXT?
Who: No. 1 South Carolina (17-1, 5-0 SEC) vs. Georgia (11-7, 2-3 SEC)
When: 3 p.m. Sunday
Where: Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, Georgia
Watch: SEC Network
Listen: 107.5 FM in Columbia area
