No. 3 South Carolina WBB travels No. 9 TCU today: How to watch, what to know
Dawn Staley and the No. 3 South Carolina women’s basketball team are back on the road again, this time to take on No. 9 TCU on Sunday. It’s a neutral-site game, but it’s still in TCU’s backyard. This is the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Today’s game is the Gamecocks’ fourth against a ranked team in the last 15 days.
Here’s everything you need to know about the contest, including how to watch, top storylines and more:
South Carolina basketball game
Who: No. 3 South Carolina (8-1) at No. 9 TCU (9-0)
When: Sunday, 7 p.m.
Where: Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas
What channel is it on?
The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 (Beth Mowins, play-by-play; Stephanie White, analyst). You can listen on the radio on 107.5 FM in the Columbia area, and on satellite radio on SiriusXM Channel 109 or 190.
TOP STORYLINES FOR THE GAME
▪ No more slow starts
The Gamecocks have started to shake off the talk about their slow starts in games. Over the last three games, USC has led each game by 11 or more points after the first quarter.
That may be a byproduct of seeing how hard it is to be competitive against good teams when not getting out of the blocks quickly. UCLA led 20-10 in its win over USC last month, and the game never reached single digits again.
But USC has looked like a completely different team in its last three outings, including a win over No. 8 Duke on Thursday.
It will be important to keep that type of momentum against undefeated TCU. Though South Carolina took over the game from tip against Duke, the Gamecocks still allowed the Blue Devils to stay in the game with small runs.
When the Gamecocks pull away, they have to learn to keep their foot on the gas and salt the game away early, instead of letting teams hang around. But Staley said they’re learning from these experiences.
“There were stretches where we fell off the wagon, and we’re really just learning,” Staley said of Thursday’s home win over Duke. “They’re really trying to concentrate on identifying those spaces in which we just aren’t locked in. Because teams get back into the game, or teams get into our lead.”
▪ A showdown on the interior
Both teams rely heavily on their presence on the inside. The Gamecock forwards are the team’s top three scorers over the last three games — Chloe Kitts (13.0 points per game), Joyce Edwards (10.0) and Sania Feagin (9.3) — with Ashlyn Watkins coming in fifth with 8.3.
South Carolina averages 44.7 points in the paint per game, outscoring its opponents by 22.0 points per game in that space. The defense has allowed opponents to shoot just 39.2 percent in the paint this season.
That’ll be much harder to do against TCU, especially with center Sedona Prince, who leads the Horned Frogs in scoring with 19.4 points per game. But Staley is wary that TCU has a deep roster, saying “they have much more” than just Prince.
“You gotta chop bigs down,” Staley said. “You gotta make them work for every catch, every touch — and over a 40-minute period.”
▪ Slowing down Hailey Van Lith
TCU has made it a focus to build its program around transfers this offseason, bringing in six new faces. The marquee name?Hailey Van Lith. After stints with Louisville and LSU, Van Lith brought her talents to Fort Worth.
Along with Prince, she also leads the team in scoring with 19.4 points per contest. Van Lith also averages 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists.
Staley said the Gamecocks are very familiar with the fifth-year guard, having played against her at her previous schools. Van Lith is playing a role closer to what she did at Louisville, where she has to do more things on the court, which wasn’t required at LSU — and she’s more efficient now too.
So Staley plans to review tape from all three schools to prepare for the tough challenge.
