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Mechelle VoepelESPN.com
The South Carolina women’s basketball team will be back in action on Sunday after a brief break from the COVID-19 protocol forced the Gamecocks to postpone Thursday’s game against Georgia.
A person within the program who initially tested positive had three consecutive negative tests, allowing the pause to be suspended. Now, No. 3 Gamecocks will face No. 10 Kentucky on Sunday (ESPN, 5 pm ET), traveling to Lexington, Kentucky, on match day.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said the team had made a virtual preparation for the game, reviewing the scouts’ report, until they could practice on Saturday night.
“We were gone for three days,” said Staley. “But I hope the adrenaline of playing and not having to be out for a few more days will give us a little boost.”
The match will feature three players who were in the Top 25 of the Wooden Award in the middle of the season: Kentucky junior point guard Rhyne Howard, ESPN.com’s pre-season player of the year, and South Carolina sophomores Aliyah Boston and Zia Cooke.
Staley praised Howard, who averaged 19.1 points and 7.1 rebounds.
“She just plays at her own speed, and that speed is seeing all the options available,” said Staley. “We have to speed it up, make it take decisions faster. We need to exhaust it and make it play on both sides of the field. They have a lot of offensive options, so it’s a very difficult match for us.”
Also at his Zoom conference on Saturday, Staley addressed his team’s mindset in light of last week’s events in Washington DC During the national anthem before this season’s games, the Gamecocks had nine players seated, one player who knelt and one player who is standing. The technical committee also stands out. Staley said he left those decisions to the players in terms of what they feel comfortable doing.
On Thursday, most Tennessee players knelt during the anthem and faced criticism from some fans. Staley said his players were also criticized.
“When you decide to do something that the masses don’t like, you get ready for some reaction,” said Staley. “Our kids are strong. That’s what they’ve been dealing with all their lives. So, is it something new? No, it’s nothing new.
“When our players sit down, when Tennessee kneels – although I don’t want to speak for Tennessee – that’s why. Because we live in this America that is truly divided. We don’t like that, and that’s what we” are trying to bring awareness to . Let’s live our lives, let’s keep our eyes open and talk about things that reach our hearts in a certain way.
“We have to continue to have these unpleasant conversations, because they are people’s experiences. Five people died there. We shouldn’t be okay with that; I don’t care who it was. That was very preventable.”