LOS ANGELES — “USC” chants rained down in Crypto.com Enviornment on Saturday night time. Nevertheless it wasn’t for the College of Southern California, the varsity lower than 2 miles away. As a substitute, it was for the one 2,403 miles throughout the nation in South Carolina.
The second-ranked Gamecocks (4-0) took the inaugural title of “the Actual SC,” beating the No. 8 Trojans 69-52 within the first of two matchups between the applications over the subsequent few years.
However extra essential to South Carolina than claiming the honour was what the efficiency in Los Angeles mentioned in regards to the crew. Returning only one starter from a 12 months in the past, the Gamecocks are discovering their identification. Saturday night time bought them one step nearer.
“We’ve got seven gamers who need to play a unique function for us than what they’d with their earlier college, and even with us. It is arduous,” South Carolina coach Daybreak Staley mentioned. “We’re used to having a core group of gamers which have performed collectively for a very long time. This 12 months, Raven [Johnson] is principally the lone person who has been a part of that regime. … I assumed we put a [good] sport plan collectively.”
Johnson is the one starter from final season, which noticed South Carolina make it to the NCAA event championship sport. On Saturday, she had 14 factors on 6-of-12 capturing, together with 11 rebounds, 4 assists and two blocks.
With no Te-Hina Paopao, Bree Corridor, Sania Feagin and MiLaysia Fulwiley, and with Ashlyn Watkins and Chloe Kitts out for the season with accidents, Johnson is in a brand new veteran function with new obligations in relation to management.
The Gamecocks are ready the place their guards, corresponding to Raven Johnson and Tessa Johnson (14 factors and 5 assists), are their most skilled gamers. South Carolina has lengthy been a program fueled by its bigs.
Towards USC, switch middle Madina Okot completed with 15 rebounds. As a crew, the Gamecocks outrebounded the Trojans 56-32.
“She’s an enormous presence,” Johnson mentioned. “What, 6-foot-7? Who’s going to drive within the paint?”
“I’ll give lots of credit score to Madina,” Staley mentioned. “She was the place she wanted to be and simply from a confidence standpoint, realizing that we want her and realizing that she will be able to execute a sport plan — she is a part of us discovering our identification.”
As South Carolina has been trying to find its identification by means of the early portion of the season, Staley has been smaller samples inside particular person video games; she hopes the Gamecocks can increase upon them to refashion their DNA.
“As coaches, we’re striving for these good moments and have them play [those] for longer stretches of the sport … know that these are among the issues we need to work towards,” Staley mentioned after follow Friday. “That is what we would like issues to appear to be, and we’ll level that out.”
“When you’ll be able to put these cases collectively for longer stretches, you then go into the sport realizing that you’ll get these issues early on.”
That is what the Gamecocks had been capable of do in opposition to USC (2-1), and now they really feel they’re one step nearer to discovering who they are going to actually be this season and what they’re able to.
