Gamecocks travel to Clemson in first matchup of 3-game SEC road trip
After opening the season with four consecutive home games, South Carolina women’s basketball is leaving the confines of Colonial Life Arena to embark on a three-game road trip.
The first stop is a visit to in-state rival Clemson. The Gamecocks are looking to win four-straight against the Tigers tonight and junior forward Aleighsa Welch is expecting a hostile environment.
“It’s going to be different because we’ve played our first four games at home. It’s a different environment, you’re not going to have those fans cheering for you, it’s definitely going to be different not having our undivided fan support,” Welch said. “We are just going to have to weather that storm. It’s our first road game. They are going to come out with a lot of energy, so we have to prepare for that environment that we are going to be in.”
Coach Dawn Staley, who has been a part of the rivalry for five years, is trying to help her team prepare for its first road test.
“We got some kinks out, we got a little bit better in different areas. I thought we got exposed in some areas, so we got back in the gym today and worked through some of the things that I felt would hinder us on the road,” Staley said. “I liked the energy that came in today — the focus — and we got a lot accomplished today.”
The team is on an offensive tear through the first four games, averaging 84 points and 19.5 assists per game. Defensively, South Carolina has been a presence on the glass, out-rebounding opponents by 17.8 rebounds per game and averaging 8.5 steals.
The team looks to continue to play with the efficiency that has led to its undefeated record thus far.
“Keep focusing on doing what we are doing well: getting the ball inside, post players are playing well, we are getting a lot of production in the paint, knocking down open shots,” sophomore guard Asia Dozier said. “We have to put a little more focus on getting offensive production from our defense, just getting stops and converting in transition.”
South Carolina has eight underclassmen on the team, including freshman center Alaina Coates, who earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors after averaging 13.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
With the upcoming road trip being the first venture into a hostile collegiate environment for the freshmen, Staley and the team are looking for the younger players to get acclimated to playing on the road.
“Hopefully we have enough practice and enough game experience for them to be disciplined, don’t try anything new and just play the way we practice. Some of them have been practicing extremely well so hopefully they’ll continue that,” Staley said. “It is on the road so I have to leave a little leeway, being the first time they are on the road. They have to get a really good feel of playing on the road and performing at a certain level.”
The team is looking forward to a hard-fought game against the Tigers and has had the Clemson game circled for a while. And according to Welch, the team is always ready for a rivalry game. The battle for statewide bragging rights tips off at 7 p.m.
“You always get pumped up for a rivalry game,” Welch said. “If there is one game in your season that you get pumped for, it’s the in-state rivalry game. Everyone knows the rivalry between South Carolina and Clemson so you just want to go out there and have an extra pep in your step. They want to blow us out, we want to blow them out.”