#1 South Carolina vs #1 Stanford - 4/02/21

[Shades]

NCAA Tournament
National Semifinal
San Antonio, TX - 6:00 PM ET
TV: ESPN (Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo)

Video stream:
#1 South Carolina vs. #1 Stanford (Semifinal #1) (NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament) | Watch ESPN (tvpli)

Audio:

KZSU, 90.1 FM, Stanford, CA | Free Internet Radio | TuneIn

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Live stats:

Stanford 66-65 South Carolina (Apr 2, 2021) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Stanford Cardinal vs. South Carolina Gamecocks NCAAW game, final score 66-65, from April 2, 2021 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

South Carolina vs Stanford Women's Basketball Game Summary - April 2nd, 2021 | NCAA.com

Live scores from the South Carolina and Stanford DI Women's Basketball game, including box scores, individual and team statistics and play-by-play.

www.ncaa.com

 

[DefenseBB]

I am most curious to see the dynamic of Tara and Dawn, as far as I can remember, I do not recall these teams playing each other-not sure if that is "selective memory" or it's been a really long time. Dawn seems to have more and more angst bubbling to the surface each year that is reminding me of the former ND coach (I can't remember her name? ) whereas Tara is simply Ms. Matter of fact, keep doing what I do each year.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I am most curious to see the dynamic of Tara and Dawn, as far as I can remember, I do not recall these teams playing each other-not sure if that is "selective memory" or it's been a really long time. Dawn seems to have more and more angst bubbling to the surface each year that is reminding me of the former ND coach (I can't remember her name? ) whereas Tara is simply Ms. Matter of fact, keep doing what I do each year.

South Carolina beat Stanford in the 2017 Final Four. I watched it from a hotel ballroom in Phoenix (I was at the other Final Four).

Watched the Final in a random bar in Sedona after deciding I wouldn't necessarily be able to manage to get to Dallas and secure a ticket on short notice.

What a heady few days that was.


Dawn played Stanford several times early in her tenure and was eliminated once in the tournament as a 4 or 5 seed right at the beginning of the NCAA run.

 

[TC22]

Tara was the coach at one of the Olympics Dawn played in. I witnessed the last time we played Stanford - in Dallas. The entire weekend was awesome.

 

[SCGamecock]

Tara was the coach at one of the Olympics Dawn played in. I witnessed the last time we played Stanford - in Dallas. The entire weekend was awesome.

That was one of my favorite times as a Gamecock fan.. having both the men and women make deep runs was really exciting.

 

[SECbbfan24]

I like Tara but this is a good chance for her to get over the hump, its been 30 years since her last title.

 

[jumpstart]

These teams (Stanford and South Carolina) seem to be even, but in much different ways. I have no clue who will prevail. UCONN seems to be in a "it can't happen" position. I see them winning by double digits.

 

[FridaFriend]

Both teams have very good players. I like Tara's chances because she has a few days to prepare. I think she is the superior coach, especially when she has time to plan.

Also this Stanford team had a lot of time on the road and that has been good experience for the tournament. In the past, Stanford has excelled at home, but often proved vulnerable on the road.

 

[Dwilliams02]

Something tells me SC gonna pull this one out. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[TC22]

Something tells me SC gonna pull this one out. Maybe I'm wrong.

We will see. This is a completely different team since the start of the SEC tournament. I like the way they are playing.

 

[AYusef]

I think Stanford is the better team, but... Tara V has built many paper tigers over the years. I question if So Carolina can score enough to win this game? They've got to the Final Four because of their size and their ability to get after you defensively. Stanford has a lot of players who can score and they have the size to counter So.Carolina's.

As a UConn fan, I think Stanford would be the tougher foe matchup wise, this young team already knows they can beat the Gamecocks

 

[BoomBoom]

Both teams will be fully prepared and locked in.

That said: a difference maker may be the way Stanford absorbed Louisville's first half punch, reeled the Cards in, and overtook them in the 4th to win going away. That game must have been both a wake-up call and a shot-in-the-arm.

SC had its own shot-in-the-arm by stampeding the Longhorns. But they feasted on a bagel in the 4th, and carbs can make you sleepy.

 

[nwhoopfan]

That game must have been both a wake-up call and a shot-in-the-arm.

They had a bunch of wake-up call games this year. Not sure how much difference one more made.

 

[jumpstart]

I think Stanford is the better team, but... Tara V has built many paper tigers over the years. I question if So Carolina can score enough to win this game? They've got to the Final Four because of their size and their ability to get after you defensively. Stanford has a lot of players who can score and they have the size to counter So.Carolina's.

As a UConn fan, I think Stanford would be the tougher foe matchup wise, this young team already knows they can beat the Gamecocks

Knowing they can beat them ? You can make the argument that South Carolina knows how close they came with a win. I think that game went into overtime on the UCONN home court using Nike balls. I am not so sure UCONN would want a rematch with South Carolina. They know who they will have to lock down......Paige will be hard to lockdown as she has proven through out the year....but she almost single handed beat South Carolina. The fact that they have played does not give UCONN the advantage. I see them playing Stanford when it's all said and done...but we will have to wait until it's all said and done.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Dawn's presser was kind of fun.

Said Tara telling her not to take the Temple job is what made her want to take it. She thinks Tara was trying to tell her not to coach while she was an active player, but it put a necessary chip on her shoulder. She says she needs chips.

.....

I went back and looked at the box score of the 2017 game and saw the ESPN clips. Watching A'Ja in those clips was fun. When you saw her every game sometimes it was easy to lose perspective on how good she was.

 

[Rb335]

Stanford has a huge advantage in perimeter shooting while SC has an advantage in the post. I bet Tara utilizes her shooting posts to bring Boston/Saxton away from the hoop to open room for lots of cutting and driving lanes. She has a very versatile offense this year so they can play a number of different ways. I expect Dawn to try to pound the ball inside, likely getting Brink into foul trouble. Schemes aside, they seem like two fairly matched teams. May just come down to who has the ball last.

 

[visitingcock]

Both teams will be fully prepared and locked in.

That said: a difference maker may be the way Stanford absorbed Louisville's first half punch, reeled the Cards in, and overtook them in the 4th to win going away. That game must have been both a wake-up call and a shot-in-the-arm.

SC had its own shot-in-the-arm by stampeding the Longhorns. But they feasted on a bagel in the 4th, and carbs can make you sleepy.

I think our gals know that the bagel was the result of their opponent's total demoralization at the end of 3 quarters and that their next opponent is thrice as talented. I don't think any team would feel "sleepy" going into a game against a powerhouse like Stanford.


The second halves by both teams in the last round were awe inspiring.

 

[Hayven]

Someone tell Belibi to get a dunk in during the rout

 

[Waquoit]

Like I said, Wilson gives SC the edge. And now I'm getting inundated with Wilson ads.

 

[DefenseBB]

I think Stanford is the better team, but... Tara V has built many paper tigers over the years. I question if So Carolina can score enough to win this game? They've got to the Final Four because of their size and their ability to get after you defensively. Stanford has a lot of players who can score and they have the size to counter So.Carolina's.

As a UConn fan, I think Stanford would be the tougher foe matchup wise, this young team already knows they can beat the Gamecocks

Wait, what? Tara has not had this loaded of a team in quite a while, if EVER. This team is, in my mind, one of her best ever and would need a National title to be considered as good or better than the 1990 or 1992 teams. If it falls short, I would still rank it in the Top 5 and arguably #3. While Tara has made 15 Final Fours, she has many times OVER-Achieved with those teams and was not the favorite so your comment of "paper tigers" seems a bit of a reach. Think about who she has had to contend with-UConn, Tenn, Baylor and ND as icon programs who had less stringent acceptance standards and more favorable conferences. Until recently, the PAC 12 was not considered great. Now, with Rueck, Graves, Barnes and Close, she has better battle tested teams.

 

[BlueDevils]

This is going to be one hell of a matchup! Very curious to see how the post players produce from both teams.

 

[Shades]

Can we get this party started?

 

[GoUconn7961]

The lead up to these games is like torture.

 

[hoopsfan22]

And these games seem to get later and later every year. Not sure why.

 

[Shades]

Stanford struggling with SC defense very early on.