Dawn Staley, Kim Mulkey share final thoughts ahead of South Carolina-LSU showdown
For Kim Mulkey and No. 9 LSU, the mission Thursday night is simple: Beat South Carolina.
Unbeaten, No. 1-ranked South Carolina. The 2023-24 version of No. 1 South Carolina with its 68.7 HerHoopStats defensive rating (compared with last year’s 74.1) and 119 HHS offensive rating (114 last year). The same South Carolina leading the nation in field goal percentage (52.6%) and field goal percentage defense (holding opponents to 29.4%).
OK, maybe not so simple.
“No one seems to have found the formula to beat them,” Mulkey said Wednesday. “We will try to do the same thing a lot of teams do, and that’s try to upset them.”
Mulkey and USC coach Dawn Staley both previewed the highly anticipated matchup Wednesday with local media, sharing their sort of final thoughts ahead of tip off Thursday night at 8 on ESPN.
The top-10 game has garnered a lot of attention, attracting ESPN’s “College GameDay” to LSU for a women’s hoops contest for the first time in program history and launching ticket prices into the stratosphere. While both coaches acknowledged the game’s great significance, they also gave a peek into what their respective teams are preparing for.
South Carolina is looking to rise to the moment as it did in close, tough-environment road games earlier in the season at North Carolina and Duke.
“It’s all about competing,” Staley said. “It’s all about whatever team gets to their habits the quickest. That’s probably going to determine who gets out to a good start.”
Staley also emphasized the importance of not letting LSU’s atmosphere have too much influence over South Carolina’s game. Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors said Sunday night after playing LSU at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center that the raucous crowd is worth about 8 to 10 points. The Tigers are averaging about 11,058 fans per home game and expect their match with the Gamecocks to sell out by tip-off.
“I think it’s gonna be a party in there for them, and I think they’re going to enjoy it,” Staley said. “If we’re up, they’re gonna will their team and put them in a position of the comeback. If they’re up, they’ll make it hard for us to hear and execute. But we’ve been in that environment before, and we’re up for the challenge.”
Another point of emphasis for Staley (and concern of Mulkey): the Gamecocks’ post depth.
USC’s 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso towers over LSU’s entire roster, and she had an impressive showing against Angel Reese when Team Brazil defeated Team USA in the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup over the summer. Cardoso and her 13.3 points, 10.7 rebounds (plus 2.9 blocks per game) stat line are drawing a lot of attention, but Staley says the Gamecocks’ advantage lies in their post depth.
Tessa Johnson, who rolled her ankle versus Texas A&M Sunday, practiced both days this week, Staley said. While the freshman guard is not “100%,” she’ll still be helpful in Baton Rouge when it comes to creating space for South Carolina’s offense and defending against LSU’s 91.6-points-per-game offense (which leads the nation).
That spacing is another of Mulkey’s concerns. This USC squad looks very different from last year’s post-dominant, 3-point-shooting impaired team. And that makes them harder to game plan for.
“They lost a lot,” Mulkey said, “but South Carolina just reloads.”
Starting guard Te-Hina Paopao leads the nation in 3-point shooting percentage (58.8%). Bree Hall has shot over 60% from the field and from 3 over USC’s last 12 games.
Zooming out from individual performances, though, several Gamecocks and Tigers stats stack up in a really compelling way.
LSU has the No. 2 rebounding margin in the nation (16), while USC’s is ranked No. 4 (15.2). Since losing to Auburn, LSU’s defense has limited opponents to under 30% shooting (Alabama shot 28.8% and Arkansas shot 27.8%), while South Carolina has the best field goal percentage in the nation. The Tigers’ offense ranks No. 1 in the nation, while USC’s scoring defense ranks No. 5 in the country, allowing 52.1 opponent points per game.
The only surety with this game is its astronomical entertainment value.
South Carolina vs LSU basketball schedule
- Who: South Carolina (17-0, 5-0 SEC) at LSU (18-2, 5-1)
- Where: Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
- When: 8 p.m. Thursday
- TV/Stream: ESPN/ESPN.com
