Dawn Staley promises Gamecocks will be ‘different offensive team’ at SEC tournament

When it comes to offensive efficiency, there aren’t very many teams in women’s college basketball that can compare to South Carolina. According to Her Hoop Stats, the Gamecocks average 104.8 points per 100 possessions, a mark that ranks 25th nationally.

But in the four losses coach Dawn Staley’s team has suffered this year, that efficiency has plummeted as low as 65.7 and never gotten above 87.0 So heading into this weekend’s SEC tournament, Staley did something she doesn’t typically do in speaking with the media — she made a promise.

“Defensively, I think we’re OK when we’re not turning the basketball over. It’s our offense and our ability to be more efficient,” Staley said. “And I don’t really like to promise, but I’m gonna promise you that we’re going to look like a different offensive basketball team come Friday night.”

That’s when the Gamecocks will kick off their run for a sixth tournament title in seven years, playing the winner of No. 7 seed Alabama vs. No. 10 seed Missouri in the quarterfinals. And from the sound of it, Staley wants to see that different offensive identity as soon as the opening tip comes down.

“Just from the very start, I just find that we take a little bit longer to adjust in bigger games rather than going out and being the aggressor,” Staley said. “So, you know, I told our players that people at the very beginning of the game are squaring up on us. We’re taking hits without defending them. We got to square up. And if they hit, we got to hit back, and I think they’re really having an opportunity to embrace it, but also an opportunity for us to be who we are, who we’ve been for most of the season. That’s the aggressor. And when we are the aggressor, it’s worked out for us.”

When the Gamecocks haven’t been aggressors, Staley said, they’ve played with less confidence and opponents have been able to build momentum through the first few quarters, then play with confidence down the stretch. And they haven’t helped themselves on those occasions either.

“The four teams that beat us, we were in the basketball game. Whether it’s one possession here or there, we were in it. And what we learned is we beat ourselves, other than, I guess you can add Texas A&M to it — they beat us, but we also beat ourselves with our inability to execute offensively and be deliberate,” Staley said.

A key to remedying that will be more balanced minutes — Staley said after the Gamecocks lost to Tennessee that starting point guard Destanni Henderson couldn’t afford to play for 40 minutes with her signature speed. Three games later, though Henderson once again played 40 minutes as South Carolina lost to Texas A&M. Heading into a tournament that could feature three games in three days, that can’t happen again, Staley said.

“For her to be effective, and if we are fortunate enough to get to Sunday, it can’t be with her playing 120 minutes,” Staley said. “But here’s what I’m looking forward to. I’m looking forward to us — deliberate is is the word that I’m going to continue to say — just being more deliberate in what we want. So hopefully throughout the course of games, we can afford ourselves to give everybody a blow, all of our starters a blow. Because in order for us to win the SEC tournament championship, we have to rest our starters and not load them up.”

Sophomore forward Laeticia Amihere figures to be in line to play an important role in relieving the starters. Staley has mentioned in recent weeks how the former five-star recruit has started to pick up her play as of late, and her statistical output has followed — she recorded a double-double in USC’s win over ranked Kentucky.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she continues to put her foot down, especially in a tournament setting where you win and you continue to play and you get more opportunities to spread your wings,” Staley said of Amihere. “And obviously she’s got an incredible wingspan (6-foot-10), so there’s a lot of room for her to play her best basketball.”

NEXT USC BASKETBALL GAME

What: SEC tournament quarterfinals

Who: No. 2 seed South Carolina (19-4, 14-2 SEC) vs. winner of No. 7 seed Alabama vs. No. 10 seed Missouri

When: 6 p.m. Friday

Where: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville

Watch: SEC Network