Gamecock WBB hopes to use depth to their advantage in tough SEC stretch
South Carolina women’s basketball is in the midst of a five-game stretch in which all five of its opponents are against Top 25 teams.
So far, the Gamecocks are 1-0 in this SEC mini-gauntlet after a big win Sunday over then-No. 5 Texas. Their next challenge comes Thursday on the road against No. 19 Alabama.
“Alabama is always tough,” head coach Dawn Staley said Wednesday. “They’re well-coached. They always have great guard play. They can shoot the ball. (It’s) a hard place to play as well.”
Staley has talked often about the depth of this year’s Gamecock squad and how, at times, it can be hard to manage minutes when so many players deserve to see the court.
The loss of Ashlyn Watkins to a season-ending knee injury should, in theory, free up minutes in the rotation. A few days later, however, USC gained Sakima Walker and Maddy McDaniel back from their own injuries.
During this stretch of challenging opponents, Staley said the team’s depth can benefit the Gamecocks.
“We use it to our advantage, obviously, by playing a lot of players,” Staley said. “They all deserve to be on the floor. Some of them that don’t play probably deserve a little bit more. It helps in the whole longevity of a season.
“This stretch that we’re in right now, it’s tough. I think during a stretch like this, or in a stretch of conference play, it’s about trusting your team. It’s about trusting your habits that you build, and we’ve been able to do that for the most part for most of the season.”
Staley routinely sends out about 10 players to the floor during each game. Five different Gamecocks average at least 20 minutes of action per game, and five more average over 15 minutes per game. Te-Hina Paopao leads South Carolina with 25.2 minutes per game, while Tessa Johnson (22.1) leads the bench unit.
Bree Hall told reporters Wednesday that South Carolina’s depth makes the Gamecocks a “unique team” for opponents to deal with.
“Honestly, we were talking about this earlier. ... It has to be hard scouting us because you have to scout for every single player,” Hall said. “So I think it makes us a really unique team.”
The talent on South Carolina’s roster extends far down the bench. Scoring has been a team effort for the Gamecocks all year. South Carolina’s bench itself leads the nation with 42.1 points per game. The Gamecocks bench accounts for 51.4% of their total offense and typically outscores its opponents’ bench by 26.7 points per game. South Carolina’s bench has outscored the opponent’s starting lineup 10 times this season — including against a pair of ranked teams.
Two of South Carolina’s top three leading scorers are currently coming off the bench for the Gamecocks. Joyce Edwards leads the team with 11.2 points per game, and MiLaysia Fulwiley is No. 3 in scoring (10.7).
“It’s hard to guard all 13 of us,” Edwards said last week after a win over Texas A&M. “But I feel like it doesn’t really matter if you’re hot or not, if you’re going to be the leading scorer or not. I feel like you just go out there, you make an impact as much as you can during the game and while you’re in the game. And that’s all you can do.”
South Carolina schedule: Next 4 games
- Thursday: at Alabama, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Sunday: vs. Oklahoma, 3 p.m. (ESPN)
- Jan. 23: vs. LSU, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
- Jan. 27: at Tennessee, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
