Strength in numbers: How No. 1 South Carolina women are using ‘energizers’ this season
The top-ranked South Carolina women’s basketball team features three preseason Wooden Award watch list players — but head coach Dawn Staley isn’t afraid to implement the team’s other assets.
Of the 82.6 points USC is averaging per game, 42.7 of those are produced by players coming off the bench.
“I want (opponents) to prepare for 13 players,” Staley said in early December. “When you have to spend (a lot of ) time on 13 players, that’s when you’re seeing something.”
The player total is now 14 after freshman forward Chloe Kitts joined the team two weeks ago.
South Carolina’s returning reserves didn’t immediately impact games last season with the rigorous non-conference schedule and national championship run, with last year’s unit averaging just 21.1 points per game.
Players like Bree Hall and Sania Feagin were freshmen, and Raven Johnson was injured early in the season. Former Gamecock Saniya Rivers didn’t see big minutes as a freshman last season either.
But the depth has improved with the development of the returning players, and some additions to the roster.
Junior center Kamilla Cardoso has improved her production, ranking third on the team in points per game (8.9), second in rebounds (8.1) and first in blocks (1.9). Senior forward Laeticia Amiehre has excelled off the bench, averaging 7.3 points per game.
“When you have someone like (Amihere) that’s playing super well, and Kamilla has turned the page, you’ve got to prep for them,” Staley said.
Amihere has been with the team since 2019, and functions as both a post player and a ball handler. Staley said she likes bringing Amihere into games off the bench because of the push she gives the team.
Amihere has embraced the reserve role, starting in just four of her 103 career games. She said some of the younger players in the backup unit have come along nicely so far.
“We also get different sides of everybody each game,” Amihere explained. “Sometimes, somebody might need scoring, somebody might need to be good on defense. We’re definitely seeing the all-around game evolving.”
Sophomores Hall and Feagin also have contributed to the offensive game plan, increasing their scoring averages by 3.8 points and 5.9 points, respectively.
The team features three true freshmen — Kitts, Ashlyn Watkins and Talaysia Cooper — who have shown flashes of brilliance. Still, there’s room for improvement.
“You really just don’t know,” Staley said of the younger players. “They could have breakout games. They could suck, too. But you don’t know, so you have to scout them.”
Johnson leads the team with 3.1 assists per game. She played in just two games last season before sustaining a knee injury. Johnson wore a knee brace for the first eight games of the season but is now playing unrestricted.
She and Amihere are the primary ball handlers in the second unit, called upon to bring a different punch from the starters.
“We call each other ‘energizers’,” Johnson said. “When we come in, we try to bring that energy off the bench, that spark off the bench. Just make the game go to the next level.
In the close games, the team has relied mostly on its experienced players to play the bulk of the minutes. The freshmen and sophomores have played in the majority of the games, though the minutes tend to vary.
Staley said the younger players understand the caliber of roster they joined, and that growth takes time.
“Greatness is a process, it doesn’t really happen like that,” Staley said as she snapped her fingers. “I think we do a really good job of painting a picture of how we see them, now and in their future. Each day, we just try to pour into them to get better.”
With South Carolina’s student-led practice squad off for winter break, the team’s younger players have gotten all the reps in practice heading into Monday’s game against Georgia (7 p.m., SEC Network).
As SEC play continues, the Gamecocks will utilize their depth in efforts to secure another regular-season title.
“We all have that chemistry,” Johnson said. “We all tell each other if we’re wrong, tell each other if we’re right. We also have a friendship, a bond. I think that also ties into the stuff we do on the court.”
This story was originally published January 2, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
