COLOMBIA – After a loss to Connecticut that cost them first place in the ranking and a staggering loss to Tennessee, where a 15-point lead was broken in less than a quarter, second place, South Carolina only needed to feel good.
Gamecocks still lose many layups. They still look at the free throw line as if there were a bag of snakes on it.
But when can they destroy No. 17 (and nemesis) Kentucky 76-55 with their candidate for National Player of the Year scoring a mere four points and keeping the POY Wildcats competitor Rhyne Howard to 12? When did they establish next week as the final step towards their first goal, a regular SEC season championship?
They will accept. For sure, they will accept.
“We talked a lot about this in the last few days, ‘We are not going to travel,'” said USC coach Dawn Staley. “We lost a game, but we are a very good basketball team. Let’s not be fooled into thinking that if we lose a game, the bottom will collapse. “
The USC (18-3, 13-1 SEC) needs to beat Mississippi at home on Thursday to set up a showdown in fifth place for Texas A&M in six days. With Gamecocks and Aggies losing each in the conference, the winner would take the number 1 seed in the SEC tournament and the SEC regular season championship.
It is always an objective that Gamecocks have achieved five times in the past seven seasons and, until a week ago, it seemed predetermined. Not only would the USC win, but it would also mark consecutive 16-0 seasons at the SEC, the first in the history of the conference.
The loss of UConn hurt, but it was an off-road game on the road. The defeat in Tennessee hurt more because the Vols were more physical and caused problems throughout the season, somewhat ignored because the USC was winning, shining.
Gamecocks are notoriously bad at scoring layups. They are an average free throw line team. As the top scorer like Destanni Henderson (she scored 14 points on Sunday), her handling of the ball is suspect and her best asset, speed, was to trap and turn it.
They started against the Wildcats (15-6, 8-5) 0 out of 9 in layups and 5 out of 11 in the line. They still led, surprisingly, because Howard had not yet scored and Boston had a point, but the confusion was rampant.
The problem has been around all year, and Gamecocks definitely work on it. But it did not appear in the games.
However, on Sunday, even after that start, even with Boston mostly playing bait (she only fired four shots), the Gamecocks passed him by. The shots started to drop (Zia Cooke scored 21 points in a strong shooting game), Laeticia Amihere scored 12 and Lele Grissett, starting on her Senior Citizen Day, scored 13. USC left 12 points on the line, but scored 16.
Layups started to fall, spurred on by an immense advantage in the transition. USC owned the councils, and while more chances might have fallen, at least those chances were presented.
Most of all, they surrounded Howard, never letting her get into a stream. Staley hesitated about the exact game plan, but Grissett clarified.
“Stay tuned. Just look at what’s important, ”she said. “And she was the most important thing on the court.”
Gamecocks won easily without their best player, took the best out of their opponent and hit a silly opponent that they always love to beat. The online criticism of the Tennessee defeat, which never failed to criticize Staley, was just that.
The USC is not talking about what’s to come this week, but every player knows. It is still in place, despite some recent difficult nights.
Looking forward
USC hosts Mississippi on Thursday.
Follow David Cloninger on Twitter @DCPandC.