On Tuesday at 4:00 PM PT on ESPN2 and Varsity Network radio, #2 Stanford women’s basketball will take on #1 South Carolina on the road in Columbia, South Carolina. Stanford comes in at 8-2 overall while South Carolina comes in at 11-0. The last time these two teams faced was in last season’s Final Four. Stanford won 66-65 en route to their national championship.
Last time out: Stanford defeated #7 Tennessee 74-63 on Saturday. Haley Jones led the way for Stanford with 18 points, a career-high 19 rebounds, and 6 assists.
RECAP: #3 Stanford WBB takes care of business at #7 Tennessee
On South Carolina: The Gamecocks are picked by many to win the national championship this season and with Stanford coming to town, they get a chance to prove themselves a bit against the defending national champions. They have one national title under their belts back in 2017, but they are looking to prove that they can consistently win national titles. Head coach Dawn Staley is in her 14th season at South Carolina and has done a wonderful job of building this program up into the elite program that they are today.
This year’s Gamecocks team is led by junior forward Aliyah Boston, who is averaging 16.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game. Boston is an elite talent who is doing work for the Gamecocks inside. The other two players scoring in double figures are senior guard Destanni Henderson (12.3 points) and junior guard Zia Cooke (12.1 points). Henderson has missed three games with an undisclosed injury and it’s unclear when she’ll be back. So, it’s no guarantee she’ll be available for Tuesday’s contest.
As a team, the Gamecocks average 72.6 points per game on 46.1% shooting from the field, 33.9% shooting from 3-point range, and 64.7% shooting from the foul line. They also average a +18.7 rebound margin, 14.5 assists, 7.1 steals, 8.8 blocks, and 16.2 turnovers per game. Their opponents average 50.2 points per game on 32.1% shooting from the field, 26.7% shooting from 3-point range, and 67.3% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: The first thing Stanford has to do to win this game is avoid dry spells on offense. What almost did them in at Tennessee was the inability to score in the 3rd quarter. They got off to a great start in the first half, but in that 3rd quarter, the wheels came off offensively and Tennessee came back into the game as a result. If Stanford is able to consistently score and maintain good flow throughout, they should be in good shape. Hannah Jump’s perimeter shooting is going to be needed.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is hold their own inside. South Carolina’s +18.7 rebound margin is really impressive. Stanford is going to need to match their intensity inside and not allow South Carolina to dominate the boards as much as they’re used to. Cameron Brink only played 8 minutes at Tennessee due to foul trouble and Stanford was able to get the win anyways. I don’t see Stanford winning this game if Brink is once again limited. Stanford needs a big time performance from her in this one.
Finally, Stanford needs to stay relaxed and loose. While this game is big for both teams, it’s bigger for South Carolina. It’s on their home floor, they’re the number one ranked team, and they’re seeking redemption from last year’s Final Four. If Stanford loses this game, it’s honestly not that big of a deal for them. They got an excuse to lose this one: On the road for the second straight time against an elite program. Stanford’s ranking shouldn’t take much of a hit if they lose nor should their NCAA tournament seeding.
South Carolina on the other hand, has a lot to lose here. The pressure is squarely on them given their superior ranking and home court advantage. If they lose, they will not be able to say they are the top team in the nation and Stanford will almost certainly have the mental edge going into the NCAA tournament. If Stanford comes out loose, relaxed, and poised, that more than anything will give them an advantage. They need to treat this game as a game where they have nothing to lose and just go out there and have fun. Make South Carolina be the team that’s getting tense and nervous in crunch time.
Prediction: I picked Stanford to win at Tennessee and many people didn’t feel they would win. Not only did Stanford win, they won rather easily. Which surprised even myself since I predicted a two point win. So on those grounds, a Stanford win at South Carolina shouldn’t shock people. Stanford is really good and looking like a team that could win the national title again.
However, Stanford is on the road and it’s the second game of this tough road trip to the South. Stanford has shown that they are mortal and that there’s some games that they’re just going to lose even though they’re big picture-wise in the national championship hunt. I think this is one of those games that’s all teed up for South Carolina to win. They’re seeking redemption, they’re at home, etc. I got South Carolina winning by a touchdown 67-60. If Stanford wins this game, that’ll send shockwaves all across the country. Much more so than their win at Tennessee.
To connect with CardinalSportsReport.com on Twitter, click here.
To connect with Ben Parker, click here.
