USC Gamecocks 2024-25 Season: Part Two

[GamecockFam]

Lay had a good game (would be a great game for most guards). Crazy thing is that she has not even scratched the surface of what she can bring to this year's team.

Yeah no joke -- 20 points in 21 minutes! She is really good at getting her defender off-balance and then accelerating past them. I cannot wait to see this skill develop over the next 3 years as she learns countermoves. I love the isolation plays that CDS is drawing up for her.

She still takes some bad shots but I think the "simple" things are starting to click for her and the number of bad shots are reducing. The lightbulb is starting to turn on... Only like 2 or 3 of her 15 shots were ill-advised.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Maddy McDaniel has been the surprise of the season to me. I thought she’d be last off the bench; instead she’s leading the team in assists.

I think she is definitely a future starter at PG.

 

[Frankus]

An 85-52 win… makes me wonder how TCU beat Notre Dame. Our best all around game of the year… Dawn got 12 players minutes, we shot well, defended well, and won convincingly on the road against a ranked team. Raven had a very nice game, in particular. Fulwiley gave us 20 points and great defense. Feagin getting 4 fouls didn’t move the needle… well done, Gamecocks!

TCU beat ND because Koval got into foul trouble, leaving us with only a 6”1 player guarding the basket. Van Lith kept beating the guard defending her and either, (a) made a layup (b) dished to Prince for easy buckets or (C) dished to wide open 3 point shooters when ND collapsed on her. Many ND fans thought HH should have defended Van Lith at that point as an obvious tactical move, but it didn’t happy.

Congrats to SC for such an impressive win.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

McDaniel is good, but I expected she would be based on her rating.

The only question I had was shooting and health.

 

[USMC(ret)]

TCU beat ND because Koval got into foul trouble, leaving us with only a 6”1 player guarding the basket. Van Lith kept beating the guard defending her and either, (a) made a layup (b) dished to Prince for easy buckets or (C) dished to wide open 3 point shooters when ND collapsed on her. Many ND fans thought HH should have defended Van Lith at that point as an obvious tactical move, but it didn’t happy.

Congrats to SC for such an impressive win.

ND did a nice job against Texas. I thought Harmon would have a bigger impact for Texas, but Booker was by far their dominant player. It was a game decided in the backcourt, and the Hidalgo/Myles/Citron combo was better than Booker/Harmon/Holle.

 

[GamecockFam]

McDaniel is good, but I expected she would be based on her rating.

The only question I had was shooting and health.

Her ceiling looks a lot higher than expected, especially when compared with the recent plethora of highly-rated guards to come through our system. She looks like the most polished freshman PG since Ty Harris and looks to have the foundations of a starting WNBA PG. I see flashes of players like Ty Harris, Lindsey Allen, Courtney Williams, and Tiffany Mitchell whenever I watch her play.

With all that combined, I think we'll find out that she was under-ranked when the dust settles. So when I talk about her being better than expected, that's the standard I'm comparing her against.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

McDaniel is good, but I expected she would be based on her rating.

The only question I had was shooting and health.

She's not even 100% yet.

 

[JellyBean]

South Carolina heating up! Great game yesterday against TCU.

 

[visitingcock]

I don't like this feeling that we basically have almost 3 weeks"off" due the the weakness of our schedule to wrap up the year. Will we suffer an ignominius upset by not taking these opponents serious enough? Will we win but grow soft for our major SEC rivals in Jan/Feb?

Argh! It's much easier when a good team is upcoming.

 

[USMC(ret)]

We’re a third done with the regular season schedule… what have we learned?

• Our two freshmen can play and contribute
• Kitts has successfully assumed a bigger role this year in the frontcourt
• Feagin is still a work in progress
• Same for Fulwiley
• Our guards are more comfortable driving to the basket this year than last
• Since UCLA, our outside shooting has come around
• When our defense is ferocious, our offense gets better
• If we make the Final Four, this may go down as Dawn’s finest coaching effort. We have no superstars and no clear Alpha dog among the players… but we do have a roster filled with very skilled, unselfish players who allow themselves to be coached.

 

[cancontent]

We’re a third done with the regular season schedule… what have we learned?

• Our two freshmen can play and contribute
• Kitts has successfully assumed a bigger role this year in the frontcourt
• Feagin is still a work in progress
• Same for Fulwiley
• Our guards are more comfortable driving to the basket this year than last
• Since UCLA, our outside shooting has come around
• When our defense is ferocious, our offense gets better
• If we make the Final Four, this may go down as Dawn’s finest coaching effort. We have no superstars and no clear Alpha dog among the players… but we do have a roster filled with very skilled, unselfish players who allow themselves to be coached.

And that you need to be careful when doing a high five with Ashlyn

 

[GamecockFam]

Assuming this list is correct, Ashlyn has moved into a 3-way tie for third place on most dunks in NCAAW games with 3.

She is currently tied with Fran Belibi and Michelle Snow. She trails Candice Parker (7) and Britney Griner (18). If she gets a few this year, she could challenge Parker for the #2 spot by the time she graduates. I doubt she surpasses Griner.

Every women’s college basketball player to dunk in a game

Beginning with Georgeann Wells and ending with Francesca Belibi, here is the list of the eight women's college basketball players to dunk in a game.

www.ncaa.com

 

[bballnut90]

Assuming this list is correct, Ashlyn has moved into a 3-way tie for third place on most dunks in NCAAW games with 3.

She is currently tied with Fran Belibi and Michelle Snow. She trails Candice Parker (7) and Britney Griner (18). If she gets a few this year, she could challenge Parker for the #2 spot by the time she graduates. I doubt she surpasses Griner.

Every women’s college basketball player to dunk in a game

Beginning with Georgeann Wells and ending with Francesca Belibi, here is the list of the eight women's college basketball players to dunk in a game.

www.ncaa.com

I'm kind of shocked there haven't been more. Others who have notably dunked in HS games or shown the ability to include:
-Sedona Prince (who ironically is the player Watkins dunked on)
-A'ja Wilson
-Laeticia Amihere
-Maya Moore
-Olivia Nelson-Ododa
-Ayanna Patterson
-Brittany Hunter
-Tina Charles
-Toby Fornier
-Amber Harris (attempted a dunk in a college game but missed it)
-Lauren Betts

 

[GamecockFam]

I'm kind of shocked there haven't been more. Others who have notably dunked in HS games or shown the ability to include:
-Sedona Prince (who ironically is the player Watkins dunked on)
-A'ja Wilson
-Laeticia Amihere
-Maya Moore
-Olivia Nelson-Ododa
-Ayanna Patterson
-Brittany Hunter
-Tina Charles
-Toby Fornier
-Amber Harris (attempted a dunk in a college game but missed it)
-Lauren Betts

There is a video out there of Nelson-Ododa and Prince taking turns dunking the ball that I really enjoyed.

I agree but I think there are many factors that explain why it is a rare occurrence. Most women who can dunk can only do so at the minimum height to dunk and under perfect conditions (not fatigued, open lane to the basket, etc.). There just aren't that many opportunities. Every one of Watkins dunks have come off of steals that have led to wide open lanes to the basket.

Speaking of dunks, my favorite part is watching the crowd reaction. In the TCU game I think there were two male cheerleaders that were taunting Watkins, daring her to dunk it, and when she did they look at each other with wide open mouths and shocked face. It was hilarious. There is also a blurry image of a TCU assistant coach just sitting there with her mouth agape for like 5 seconds. There were also a couple of TCU players on the bench that hung their heads trying to act like they didn't see it happen.

 

[WBBTakeover]

Assuming this list is correct, Ashlyn has moved into a 3-way tie for third place on most dunks in NCAAW games with 3.

She is currently tied with Fran Belibi and Michelle Snow. She trails Candice Parker (7) and Britney Griner (18). If she gets a few this year, she could challenge Parker for the #2 spot by the time she graduates. I doubt she surpasses Griner.

Every women’s college basketball player to dunk in a game

Beginning with Georgeann Wells and ending with Francesca Belibi, here is the list of the eight women's college basketball players to dunk in a game.

www.ncaa.com

IMO, Ashlyn is a better dunker than Candace (and I suspect that she'll challenge for that 2nd place spot), but Fran's (at about 6'0) and Michelle's (two-handed power) dunks were quite impressive. Can't see anyone realistically challenging BG's mark.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

IMO, Ashlyn is a better dunker than Candace (and I suspect that she'll challenge for that 2nd place spot), but Fran's (at about 6'0) and Michelle's (two-handed power) dunks were quite impressive. Can't see anyone realistically challenging BG's mark.

I have a Michelle Snow and Pat Summitt story. In the 2000-2001 season, the Gamecocks were having their best season in a decade or so (ended in the E8) and we were playing Tennessee in our old arena. It was a sold out game and there was a lot of energy. Around the middle of the 2nd half, Pat stomped her high heels and yelled, "Snow" loud enough that most of the arena heard it. A few minutes after that, Snow had a dunk. That's my favorite Pat Summitt story.

 

[JstVisiting]

We’re a third done with the regular season schedule… what have we learned? ….

• If we make the Final Four, this may go down as Dawn’s finest coaching effort. We have no superstars and no clear Alpha dog among the players… but we do have a roster filled with very skilled, unselfish players who allow themselves to be coached.

I expect to be a 1 seed with one of the most talented rosters in the country, if not the most.

It might require more adjustments from night to night than last season, but I’d hardly say it is tougher than the first FF in A’ja’s freshman year.

 

[Darwin]

SC will move up to #2.

 

[JDuro]

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s basketball is one of four teams selected to participate in the Players Era Women’s Championship in 2025, Players Era, an EverWonder Studio company, announced today. The tournament, which also includes UCLA, Duke and Texas, is an opportunity for athletes to engage in at least $1 million of NIL activities for Players Era and its sponsors outside of competition.

Following the groundbreaking and successful launch of the men’s Players Era Festival in 2024, the Women’s Championship will take place in Las Vegas over three days during Thanksgiving Week and coincide with next year’s Players Era Men’s Championship. The round robin format ensures three marquee matchups for each team with an overall champion determined by head-to-head record, then a series of tiebreakers including point differential, points scored and points allowed.

Gamecocks Inked for Inaugural Players Era Women’s Championship

gamecocksonline.com

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

I'll have to choose another trip next year; I really don't care for Vegas.

 

[JstVisiting]

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s basketball is one of four teams selected to participate in the Players Era Women’s Championship in 2025,

Initially thought this was a women's version of the Champions Classic, but now I understand how Duke was invited.

 

[visitingcock]

Initially thought this was a women's version of the Champions Classic, but now I understand how Duke was invited.

Well, you wanna share

 

[cancontent]

Well, you wanna share

Okay, I wasn't the only one wondering. Phew!

 

[USMC(ret)]

Two games left before we head into conference play. Some thoughts on the SEC:

• Three elite teams: South Carolina, Texas, and LSU (who hasn't played a ranked opponent yet)... all are a good bet to make the Sweet 16 at a minimum
• Six other talented teams with strong coaching: Tennessee, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Vandy... most will make it to "the Dance"
• The rest of the pack, in no particular order: Florida, Georgia, Miss State, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Auburn, and Mizzou.

 

[visitingcock]

Two games left before we head into conference play. Some thoughts on the SEC:

• Three elite teams: South Carolina, Texas, and LSU (who hasn't played a ranked opponent yet)... all are a good bet to make the Sweet 16 at a minimum
• Six other talented teams with strong coaching: Tennessee, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Vandy... most will make it to "the Dance"
• The rest of the pack, in no particular order: Florida, Georgia, Miss State, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Auburn, and Mizzou.

Beers pushes Oklahoma above the second group for me. Talaysia might push Tennesse up too. She looks born for that offense.