How No. 1 South Carolina’s 12-0 non-conference start built confidence for SEC slate
Destanni Henderson knows it has to be hard to compete with No. 1 South Carolina.
Just look at the team’s games against Stanford, Maryland, UConn, Oregon and N.C. State — all AP top-10 teams when they played the Gamecocks — as USC took them down by an average of 10.6 points.
According to ESPN, it’s been 22 years since an NCAA women’s basketball team has recorded five wins against teams in the top 10 before January. Two of South Carolina’s wins came against teams ranked No. 2 at tip-off (vs. UConn on Nov. 22 and Stanford on Dec. 21), the first time a team has taken down two No. 2 teams in the regular season since Baylor in 2011-12.
“It shows a lot about our team,” Henderson said after tallying 17 points, seven assists and seven steals in a 65-61 win over Stanford. “It shows how much depth we have, from the starting five to the people on the bench that come in, make a spark and make a difference. It shows grit.”
Head coach Dawn Staley put together South Carolina’s schedule with purpose, preparing for the postseason with competitive contests in November and December. Staley said she’s seen confidence build with each top-10 victory, a byproduct of early dominance on the national stage.
“With every big win that we have, it instills some confidence in our team,” Staley said after the Stanford game. “They know they’re pretty good, and they know they can defend pretty well. I would like our offense to be just a little bit more consistent, and that can make it really special.”
Winning has been a bonus, though Staley ensures that the Gamecocks don’t rest on past victories or look past the next game on their schedule. It’s part of the winning culture Staley has instilled at South Carolina, a program that has made it to three NCAA Final Fours and won a national championship under her tutelage.
“Whether we’re 12-0 (or) 11-1, our players want to play,” Staley said. “They want to win. They don’t look ahead. ... They know what our weaknesses are, and they really try to get better. We’re in a good place where we’re not full of ourselves. We’re just trying to work and win each game.”
Preseason All-American Aliyah Boston has put together the resume for a national player of the year campaign, averaging 16 points, 11.2 rebounds and four blocks against the Gamecocks’ five top-10 opponents in the 2021-22 season.
Staley said Boston’s performances against top teams have grown her own confidence, and she’s seen the same with fellow veterans Zia Cooke and Laeticia Amihere.
South Carolina has been a unanimous No. 1 in the AP poll since Week 4 and has been ranked atop the poll since the preseason. The Gamecocks feel they’ve gotten each team’s best effort through their 12-0 start, facing a healthy preseason All-American Paige Bueckers with UConn, reigning Ann Meyers Drysdale award winner Ashley Owusu with Maryland and Final Four most outstanding player Haley Jones with Stanford.
Junior guard Brea Beal, USC’s defensive specialist who stymied Owusu to 17% shooting after her 45% start through the Terps’ first 11 games of the season, said the Gamecocks have to focus on thoroughly scouting opponents because of the target that comes with being the nation’s top team.
“I think any time we step on the court, we’ll feel that everybody wants us,” Beal said. “Everybody’s gonna play their best game against us, so that’s definitely the chip on our shoulder that we have.”
South Carolina has played the country’s second-toughest schedule, according to RealTimeRPI, and its performance through the first stretch of non-conference play places it with the nation’s top RPI and NET ranking ahead of SEC play.
USC’s conference stretch starts with a trip on Thursday to Missouri (11-2), which took No. 5 Baylor to the wire in a 70-68 loss earlier this month.
Henderson knows the Gamecocks won’t let up on the gas as they embark into SEC play.
“We’re gonna come out and we’re gonna compete every single chance that we get,” Henderson said. “All four quarters, we’re not gonna quit.”
Next USC women’s basketball game
Who: South Carolina Gamecocks (12-0) at Missouri Tigers (11-2)
Where: Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo.
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Watch: SEC Network
This story was originally published December 29, 2021 at 6:30 AM.
