Sophomore forward A’ja Wilson capped off a career week against the No. 13 Texas A&M Aggies on Sunday.
Wilson recorded 26 points, eight blocks and eight rebounds in a sloppy 59-58 victory, preventing an upset that would have resulted in a drastic drop for South Carolina in the national rankings. This was the Gamecocks' third straight victory over ranked teams, defeating No. 20 Missouri Tigers on Sunday and the ninth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats on Wednesday, and Wilson's second straight strong outing. Like Sunday, Wilson scored 26 points and made eight blocks against the Wildcats on Wednesday as well as adding 13 rebounds in a near-triple-double.
These back-to-back career performances earned Wilson espnW's Player of the Week honors for the first time of her career and cemented her as South Carolina's go-to scorer in crunch time. The Gamecocks have struggled on both ends when facing ranked teams this season, averaging 79.8 points per game against unranked opponents and 71.5 points per game against ranked opponents.
It's important Dawn Staley's team works out its kinks now as the team will be tested in the coming weeks. Half of South Carolina's 12 remaining games are against ranked opponents, five of which come consecutively. This five-game stretch includes a back-to-back against Kentucky and the No. 1 UConn Huskies in February.
All members of the Gamecocks roster are pivotal to finishing out the season on top, but particularly Wilson. She does not have to emulate her recent efforts for success, but must remain efficient on offense and more importantly on defense.
The forward's defensive efforts of late brings college legend Brittney Griner to mind, who dueled Geno Auriemma's Huskies several times throughout her illustrious career. The Griner Baylor teams were the only true challengers to UConn's historically dominant women's basketball team, making Wilson's recent outings that much more intriguing.
South Carolina has been neck-and-neck with the Huskies in the previous two seasons in terms of rankings, but have not had that one player to push them over the hump. Wilson has demonstrated her ability to be that player of late, she just has to continue those efforts when the Gamecocks face UConn on Feb. 8.