Wilson is due for a big game and she really needs to have one if she wants to be player of the year in the league, let alone the nation. She is a much better player than McCowan, but that isn't always what matters.
But this matchup has a ton of moving parts and there are a number of players on both teams who could end up being the story. It is a good matchup.
I thought that A'ja Wilson's game against UConn will raise her standing with WNBA coaches and GM's (which may be hard to do since she seems to be the consensus #1 overall pick in April).
She demonstrated against UConn that she can score against very good defense, and that she will keep plugging away on the offensive boards as long as she possibly can. Also, she played good defense (I thought) even on plays where UConn scored rather easily because her younger teammates messed up an assignment. For instance, on KLS's first 3-pointer from the left corner with Napheesa screening, it looked like Pheesa screened two players. But Wilson made the right play -- to stay behind Collier so as to box out for a rebound and prevent a pick and roll. It was Ty Harris who didn't realize that she needed to jump in front of the screen to defend the shot. So it looked like Napheesa screened two defenders, which she did -- but only because of Harris's minor brain freeze.
On the pick-and-roll play where Lou passed to Napheesa for an uncontested layup, A'ja again made the correct defensive play to go out a stop the shot (so the same thing didn't happen again). It was up to the weak side help defense to cover Napheesa's roll to the basket, and the young player(s) there had another brain freeze and failed to do it.
Also, there were a couple of layups (one by Napheesa and one by Lou) where A'ja was draped all over them but not fouling them, and they still made the layup.
Despite the 4-for-14 stats, considering that she was the only "adult" defender on the Gamecock team, I thought A'ja played really well at both ends of the court.
One thing she still has to learn, however, is to pass out of a double team. But maybe her teammates weren't in position for that either, and that's why she didn't do it.
