Game on: USC heads to Kentucky for top-10 showdown after brief COVID pause
South Carolina women’s basketball will return to the court Sunday after a COVID-induced pause, traveling to Kentucky for a top-10 showdown with the No. 10 Wildcats.
The No. 5 Gamecocks had been forced to postpone their game Thursday against Georgia after a positive coronavirus test Wednesday and subsequent quarantines.
On Saturday, coach Dawn Staley said the team had continued to prepare for the Kentucky game while quarantining, using video chats for virtual film sessions. And with three subsequent rounds of COVID testing coming back negative, the team is scheduled to return to the gym for practice Saturday evening.
It is unclear whether the Gamecocks were dealing with a false positive. Any positive test among Tier 1 individuals — defined as players, coaches, trainers, medical staff, equipment staff and officials — can trigger a pause. Under SEC guidelines, a test can be determined to be a false positive if three subsequent tests are all negative.
Regardless, Staley said Saturday that her full roster should be available for the contest vs. UK — redshirt junior guard Destiny Littleton had missed the previous two games before Thursday for undisclosed reasons.
And despite the the unusual preparation and uncertainty, Staley said she’s confident her team can rise to the occasion.
“We’re used to two days (of practice). Obviously Kentucky, they run somewhat similar plays to what they’ve run in the past, so I mean, we know the plays. It’s just sometimes you got to get timing, you have to have other options that you need to get down,” Staley said.
“We’ve been off for three days, and I mean literally off for three days. So you got to get your stamina back up a little bit, but I think hopefully the adrenaline of playing and not having to sit out for several more days is probably more exciting than not.”
The Gamecocks’ quick restart is an outlier. Most of the teams that have had to pause because of coronavirus issues, including four others in the top 10, have postponed multiple games and been unable to play or practice for weeks at a time. But even in the few days USC was off, Staley said she didn’t feel stressed.
“This is basically our first time during the season having to deal with something like this,” Staley said. “And then, most people are just completely shut down and they don’t have an opportunity to play. We got an opportunity, so there’s a lot of drama. The plot thickens every single day, but in a good way.”
The Wildcats come into the contest having already played three top-15 opponents in a row, going 2-1 in that span behind the play of reigning SEC Player of the Year Rhyne Howard. The Gamecocks, meanwhile lost their first top-10 matchup earlier in the season against N.C. State but have won four in a row since then. Last season, South Carolina rolled to a pair of wins over Kentucky.
“I think they are a better team than they were last year. They’re healthier. They got a lot of options offensively. So it’s a pretty tough matchup for us, but one that we welcome to play,” Staley said.
Next USC basketball game
Who: No. 5 South Carolina (7-1) at No. 10 Kentucky (9-2)
When: 5 p.m. Sunday
TV: ESPN
This story was originally published January 9, 2021 at 5:21 PM.
