Just watched yesterday's game. Not the prettiest but was entertaining throughout. Takeaways for both teams:
-Major props to Amihere who did an admirable job at PG even if the statline is rough. I never would've expected her to take over PG duties or look somewhat comfortable operating out of the perimeter. SC definitely missed Henderson/Johnson but I was impressed by how fluid Amihere looked on the perimeter. She's still a major work in progress and will continue to get better, hopefully as a forward rather than a PG.
-The story of the game was rebounding. SC was so aggressive in attacking the glass and their players (specifically Saxton/Boston) are able to read rebounding angles incredible well.
-Angel Reese is definitely a work in progress but has all the tools to be a true star. Great handles and length, fearless attacking the basket and is very hard to defend on a 1 on 1 clear out. Not the best decision maker yet and SC seemed to figure her out as the game went on, and she wasn't able to adjust. The major area of improvement needed is on defense and rebounding. She just looked lost out there at times and didn't challenge nearly as many shots as I thought she should've. Nor did she box out hard like SC players did. Definitely plays with a lot of attitude/talks trash but I enjoyed it in the sense that it fired up both sides and it didn't seem like there was any dirty play, just a lot of emotion. Her and Miller are going to be an insane combination of size and athleticism if both can stay healthy.
-Owusu had one of the worst games I've seen her play. SC is tough defensively but her drives to the basket were just bad and she wasn't able to get anything going from midrange. Also didn't create for others. Just a bad game.
-Boston showed up again and added another outstanding performance for her POY campaign, which at this point she seems to be the clear frontrunner. She played phenomenal interior defense, did a good job scoring and was a monster on the glass. The segment about her working with Tim Duncan and staying patient in the post was great and it has shown up in her play. She looks very unrushed and is playing with great composure.
-Cooke I thought did a really nice job too. The game has slowed down a lot for her and she looks like a calm veteran now. If she continues to play smart and within the offense I think SC will continue to dominate.
-First time I saw big minutes from Rivers. Honestly I wasn't very impressed....not a great showing for her. Airmailed a couple of 3s. For all the hype of UCONN/SC's freshman classes, all of them have been quite underwhelming so far.
-Masonius should've played more minutes IMO, she was phenomenal finishing around the rim (as she usually is) and plays hard even though she's undersized. Maryland got next to zero contributions from Bibby and Collins who are typically pretty steady contributors. One of the worst plays of the game was Collins taking Boston 1 on 1 at the end and throwing up a tough shot (that actually nearly went in) and it would've tied the game or given MD the lead, but I thought it was a terrible shot to take. Not very good games for her/Bibby.
-I'm not sure why more plays weren't run for Benzan coming off screens. She has one of the prettiest shots in women's college basketball and a quick release. Especially when Maryland had a tough time manufacturing points vs SC, they should've worked harder to create looks for their hot shooter. I also thought Benzan got a couple of really tough calls go against her. The bad calls evened out but Benzan often seemed like the victim of them on MD's side.
Overall/big picture:
For South Carolina-another terrific win for the clear cut #1 team in the country. Very impressed that they were able to pull this off without either PG. They are in the midst of an absolutely brutal schedule, playing at Duke next followed by a home game vs. Stanford. They're just really difficult to beat due to their size and all out effort. They play very hard defensively and have so much depth in the front court. Hope Henderson comes back soon.
For Maryland- Considering they were without Miller, had an awful game from Owusu, and got clobbered on the glass but still made this a winnable game is a testament to this team. Much better showing than vs Stanford and NC State. Maryland showed a lot of toughness. Also, very happy to see Brenda has finally put together a terrific non conference schedule even if it means MD has a few losses. If they can get Miller healthy, MD will be incredibly dangerous.
