USC looks to continue strong play at home
South Carolina will put its two-game home winning streak on the line tonight when it faces off with No. 15 Kentucky
The Lady Gamecocks enter the week fresh off a 64-62 overtime win over Arkansas, powered by a 21-point performance from junior guard La’Keisha Sutton. If USC (13-10, 5-5) is to pull off an upset against UK (18-5, 7-3), another strong showing from Sutton and sophomore guard Ieasia Walker will likely be needed.
“Some days, [Sutton] finds people, and her assists are up. Some days, she has a game like she just played, where she had 21 points,” coach Dawn Staley said. “[Sutton and Walker] have to play a role where sometimes they’re scoring and sometimes they’re deferring to one another. I like the balance that we’re bringing.”
Junior guard Markeshia Grant has provided presence off the bench with eight points and five rebounds in each of the last two games. Staley thinks this spark has made a significant difference as of late.
“I knew it would take maybe half a year for [Grant] to really settle down,” Staley said. “One of the key things was taking her off the point guard position. It freed her up to just play. We feed off her athleticism and ability to change the complexion of the game on both sides of the ball with her speed.”
Carolina enters the matchup with four wins in its last six games, including a 57-48 upset of then-No. 20 Georgia. The team’s ability to start games strong is something Staley thinks has been key to its success.
“We’re starting games better from an offensive standpoint,” Staley said. “We’re not getting ourselves down into big deficits. Our team is just gelling. It’s what you want from a coach’s standpoint.
“You want your team to get to this point a lot quicker, but everything takes a bit of time. Our players know their roles. They’ve accepted their roles. They know the things that they do best.”
UK comes in as one of the top defensive teams in the conference, just two weeks removed from forcing 20 turnovers against Vanderbilt. When coming off a 20-turnover performance against the Razorbacks, protecting the ball should be a determining factor of USC’s success.
“They force a lot of turnovers,” Staley said. “They have to force a lot of turnovers because that’s a part of their game plan. They bank on you turning the ball over and them scoring. We’re going to turn it over. We just have to defend those turnovers.”