In an exhibition game with a score of 25-4 after six minutes of play, there were few things that stood out in the Gamecocks' 116-56 exhibition victory over Coker at Colonial Life Arena on Friday.
South Carolina graduate transfer Lindsey Spann was one.
The redshirt senior was 6-for-6 from behind the three-point arc in the first half, and added a field goal for a total of 20 points in the half. She led the Gamecocks with 27 points, going 8-for-11 from the field and 7-for-9 from three.
“My teammates definitely found me. I just ran into open spots,” Spann said.
Spann transferred from Penn State in May and was the team's second leading scorer with 10.5 points per game.
“I think it is very important just as a stepping stool and a starting point for us this season," Spann said. "Everybody is playing off each other, and I think we did a great job of doing that today.”
Head coach Dawn Staley added, "She’s been doing that ever since she has been injury free. She’s been shooting the ball extremely well, so I’m not really surprised by her ability to shoot it that way. When she gets her feet set, when she gets open looks, she’s knocked ‘em down. Hopefully she can continue that.”
A point of emphasis for South Carolina was getting the ball inside. The Gamecocks finished with 58 points inside.
“That is some of the things that will be key for us throughout the season, is winning that points in the paint battle," said Staley, explaining the battle could be won by either driving to the basket or by feeding the team's post players.
While the win was one-sided in the Gamecocks' favor, they still have areas to improve upon, according to Staley. One of those issues for the Gamecocks is turnovers. They averaged 12.7 turnovers last season, and recorded 13 against the Cobras on Friday. Staley said she can live with some turnovers, but not “live ball turnovers.”
“Some things we need to get better on is our defense," Staley said. "We got to figure out how we compete a little bit better, how we come up with loose balls, how we block out and not give up so many offensive rebounds. So, we got to figure that out — and we will by the time we start on Friday.”