Gamecocks focusing on one game at a time in SEC play
Senior forward Charenee Stephens didn't have much to say when she found out the South Carolina women's basketball team was ranked No. 24 by the Associated Press for the first time all season.
"I got a text message saying we were No. 24, and I was just like, 'Oh, well that's good,'" Stephens said. "We go hard every day. It really doesn't matter. In this spot and at this point, we really have a target on our backs."
The Gamecocks will look to keep that momentum as they play LSU in what will be a defensive duel, as USC is the second-ranked defense in the nation, while the Tigers are No. 3.
"We both hold our opponents to 45 points," said USC coach Dawn Staley. "It's going to be a race to 50. I think whatever defense holds up is probably going to win the game. For us, we're hoping to have our offense catch up to our defense."
A key for the Gamecocks will be defending LSU's LaSondra Barrett, a senior forward who has three consecutive years on the All-SEC team. For Stephens, being pitted against Barrett is nothing new.
"I've been playing her my whole career," Stephens said. "She's been getting better and better."
If the Gamecock offense catches up to the defense, it will be behind freshman Aleighsa Welch, who leads the SEC in field goal percentage, shooting 66.3 percent on the season. Just as the Gamecocks haven't put much thought into anything outside of preparation for LSU, Welch hasn't focused on her individual achievement.
"I try not to look at the stats or anything like that," Welch said. "I just take the best possible shot to put my team in the best possible position, and if it's a high-percentage shot, then that's what we want."
Welch, who comes off the bench, is a testament to how USC has been able to find success this season.
"It's probably the single most important reason why we're able to be successful," Staley said of the team's depth. "Because of our depth, we have a lot of players that can come in and do a lot of things for us on both sides of the ball, but mainly defensively. They're able to either keep up the intensity level or raise it, so I think we're in a good position when it comes to that, and we've got people who can score coming off the bench. I think the bench is outproducing our starters when it comes to offensive output."
For USC, another challenge will be not looking ahead to what the season could become, especially with No. 9 Kentucky looming on Sunday.
"Any time someone asks me, 'Who do you have in this month?' or something, I really don't know," Stephens said. "I know who we play on Thursday. That's how we take it; we take it one game at a time. We like to have that time to prepare and really know who we're going up against."
For Welch, focusing on only the game ahead could be what makes or breaks the season.
"I think that getting ahead of ourselves is what could be the downfall of our team," Welch said. "Even with the coaches, they only stress just the next upcoming game. We don't look past it. We don't look through it. We don't underestimate any team. We stress the game that we've got next."