It's the game many women's college basketball fans have been awaiting all season: the 2017 National Championship rematch when No. 2 Mississippi State hosts No. 7 South Carolina Monday night.
The Gamecocks defeated the Bulldogs three times last season, twice on two of the biggest stages in college basketball. They won a close 64-61 match during the regular season in Columbia. South Carolina then went on to win their third-straight SEC Tournament with a 59-49 win over Mississippi State. Finally, after Mississippi State upset UConn in the Final Four, the two faced each other again but South Carolina won 67-55 to win its first national championship.
South Carolina struggled against No. 1 UConn Thursday night, as the Huskies dominated to get the 83-58 win and earn their fourth straight win over the Gamecocks. Although they were too much to overcome, the Gamecocks still saw some positives out of the game and are ready to move forward. Senior A'ja Wilson, who's been in this position of a regular season loss to UConn before, said not having a lot of time between these two games is better for the team, especially for the younger players.
"Turn the page, especially right now," Wilson said. "The biggest thing is just turning the page and I think they understand how to page as well, they feed off of us."
A big boost for South Carolina entering this game will be that for the first time in a while, they are finally healthy. Head coach Dawn Staley said Sunday that redshirt senior guard Lindsey Spann practiced and is good to go for Monday after missing four games to an injury. The Gamecocks have been missing different pieces of their team for most of last month, so having a fully healthy squad for this game is huge for them.
Mississippi State (23-0, 9-0 SEC) is playing at its best and will be a tough test for South Carolina (18-4, 7-2 SEC). The Bulldogs are coming off a hard-fought victory over No. 15 Missouri, whom the Gamecocks also battled against to get the win a week ago.
This stretch of ranked opponents has been a challenge for the Gamecocks, but the team thinks this is just making them better, especially with tournament season looming closely.
"It's going to help us out a lot," Wilson said of this stretch. "This is kind of, this week is really NCAA Tournament, this is how it is, this is how the SEC Tournament is. So it really does help us so we're not really caught off guard when we have to play those great teams like that in tournament play and when things are on the line."
With Mississippi State currently being the No. 2 team in the country, Monday's game could very well be foreshadowing what's soon to come in the SEC Tournament. But for now, Staley recognizes going into this environment will be a fight for her team.
"It's very competitive, we've always had competitive games against Mississippi State, and I don't see why this can't be as competitive," Staley said. "Here it is and now we've got to play. I'm looking forward to the challenge of being in an environment that appreciates women's basketball like Mississippi State in the hump. I hope our players our ready to play in an NCAA-type game."