The Daily Gamecock

Gamecocks face familiar opponent in Sweet 16

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As South Carolina senior forward Aleighsa Welch, junior guard Asia Dozierand sophomore center Alaina Coatesfielded questions from the media following their 29-point win over Syracuse, the attention quickly shifted to the Gamecocks’ next game.

When asked if they would rather face North Carolina or Ohio State in the Sweet 16, Dozier and Coates both turned to Welch, expecting the team’s veteran leader to answer. She did, but smiled before doing so. Welch then gathered her thoughts, and offered a statement that would make a public relations agency proud.

Welch said she and her teammates wouldn’t care whether they faced North Carolina or Ohio St., although a potential showdown with the Tar Heels was the elephant in the room.

That potential matchup is now a reality.

With a spot in the Elite Eight on the line and a chance to get some revenge, top-seed South Carolina faces fourth-seeded North Carolina in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Friday.

The game comes nearly one year after the Tar Heels knocked South Carolina out of the 2014 NCAA tournament in the same round. North Carolina also defeated the Gamecocks in December of 2013.

Now just two wins away from a trip to the Final Four, South Carolina is focused entirely on just advancing and living to see another day in the NCAA tournament. But the fact that the Tar Heels ended South Carolina’s season one year ago isn’t lost on the Gamecocks’ minds, either.

“They’re competitors,” Staley said. “They know what happened last year. They know this team ended our hopes of advancing further than the Sweet 16.”

Though 12 months haven’t even completely passed since the last battle between the two teams, a lot has changed in Chapel Hill.

For starters, legendary head coach Sylvia Hatchell has returned to the sidelines after missing the 2013-2014 season with leukemia. 

Additionally, former Tar Heel Diamond DeShields, who scored 19 points in North Carolina’s 65-58 win over South Carolina last March, has since transferred to Tennessee.

North Carolina might be a different team in terms of player and coach personnel, but the Tar Heels are by and large the same team stylistically, Staley says.

Hatchell’s teams love to force turnovers and constantly try to run the floor as frequently as possible, in an attempt to speed the game up.

When the Tar Heels get running, they can be hard to stop. Sophomore guard Allisha Grayleads the Tar Heels with 15.9 points per game and sophomore forward Stephanie Mavungahas become more of a threat as the season’s progressed, both with her scoring and rebounding.

For Staley, it’ll be important for the Gamecocks to dictate the pace of the game and play at its own pace.

“We’ve got to play to our strength and our strength isn’t always playing fast,” Staley said. “It is playing calculating. Playing fast when we need to. Setting up, getting that ball down to our post players when we have to play in the half court.”

An efficient performance on offense for South Carolina would go a long way in slowing down North Carolina’s fast-paced style of play. The Gamecocks enter Friday’s contest having just played two of its more impressive games offensively. South Carolina shot 64.2 percent in its win over Savannah Stateand registered an impressive 97 points in its rout of Syracuse.

Down the stretch, several teams have packed the paint against the Gamecocks, forcing South Carolina to earn its points from the perimeter. South Carolina abused Syracuse’s defense when it tried that strategy and Staley knows her team’s ability to hit outside shots will be key for the remainder of the season.

“Outside shooting is going to be key,” Staley said. “I think in order for us to continue to have the type of success that’ll we’ll have, because they’re going to do something with our post players. I think the more outside shots we hit, the more opportunities our bigs will get.”

Now, with a chance to move one step closer towards a Final Four appearance, the Gamecocks are ready to handle business against a team that ended their dream one year ago.

“I’ve been waiting for this game, waiting for revenge,” South Carolina junior guard Khadijah Sessions said. “The time is now. Just ready for it. Just ready for me and my teammates to go out and prove what we should have proved last year."


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