‘This is the best team in the country,’ UConn great, ESPN analyst says of Gamecocks
South Carolina women’s basketball cemented its standing as the No. 1 team in the nation Monday, defeating No. 2 UConn 73-57 for the Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis championship in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
In the postgame show that followed South Carolina’s win, ESPN basketball analyst Rebecca Lobo said the Gamecocks (6-0) are the best team in the country “without question.”
Lobo, a former WNBA-All Star who’s in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, played at UConn from 1991-95 and led the Huskies to an undefeated season and an NCAA championship in 1995. She never played South Carolina during her college career, as the Gamecocks didn’t meet UConn in women’s basketball until the 2007-08 season.
Lobo, who gave commentary at halftime and afterward Monday, was the color analyst for the Gamecocks’ first matchup of the 2021-22 season at N.C. State. USC won 66-57 over the No. 5 Wolfpack in its first nationally televised game of the season on ESPN.
Here’s what Lobo had to say in ESPN’s postgame show Monday following the Gamecocks’ win.
On South Carolina finding its identity in the second half vs. UConn: “They really amped up the defensive pressure. I mean, let this sink in for a second: UConn had 3 points in the fourth quarter. South Carolina’s defense was absolutely stifling. And then on the offensive end, they got, it seemed like, every offensive rebound. Every time they missed a shot, they were there to get it. This is a South Carolina team that in the second half, they showed who they’ve been. They played to their identity, they amped it up defensively and they took care of business with their posts.”
On South Carolina’s second-half adjustments: “They are so good defensively in the quarter court. The problem was in first half, in particular, the first quarter, they were letting UConn get out in transition. You look at the difference in their turnovers in the first half to the second half. How about the points off turnovers, first half to second half? Connecticut got nothing easy in the second half in terms of turnovers. Where were they consistent, South Carolina, they’ve been one of the best rebounding teams in the country over the course of the last few years — 17 second-chance points in this game, UConn had 2 second-chance points. South Carolina just absolutely took care of things on the glass. They took care of things defensively. And then, oh yeah, they’ve got one of the best centers in the country, probably the best center in the country in Aliyah Boston.”
On what UConn learned in loss: “Well this is, I think, a great game for them to see exactly where they are, what things that are strengths and what things that are weaknesses. And certainly, they need to look at, you know, doing a better job on the glass because South Carolina completely exposed them there. ... But for a team that prides itself on being so good offensively and having so many weapons, to have 3 points in that fourth quarter ...”
On the UConn keeping up with South Carolina: “I was at a UConn practice a couple of weeks ago, and one of the things I heard Coach [Geno] Auriemma say to the team is, ‘In November, I’m not coaching for November. In November, I’m coaching for March.’ I think we saw that a little bit today with the rotations he used, and they certainly have realized that in order to be considered along with South Carolina as one of the best teams in the country, there’s some things that they need to improve.”
On the statement South Carolina made over UConn: “Without question, this is the best team in the country, and they’ve got tremendous balance. We’re going to talk about Aliyah Boston because she was dominant again today. Their guards came through when they needed to. There were times Connecticut was leaving perimeter players to congest inside, and those perimeter players made shots. Destanni Henderson made shots from the outside, (Destiny) Littleton made shots. Zia Cooke was was a handful in the first half in terms of getting by her defender or creating for herself. South Carolina has everything you need to win a championship, and if they stay healthy, watch out for this Gamecock team.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
