Jan. 4, 2006
The Gamecocks had just finished unwrapping their Secret Santa presents in the Frank McGuire room. Junior Lea Fabbri gleefully shredded open her gift, an Oprah DVD box set courtesy of roommate Olga Gritsaeva. (Did you know they televised Oprah in Croatia? Me neither.)
Fabbri, however, was in the mood to watch something else: a replay of last year’s Carolina-Clemson game, which the Gamecocks lost 87-79 in overtime.
“I wanted it to make me angry, because we shouldn’t have lost that game,” said Fabbri.
The video, it turns out, was censored; the coaching staff rejected the players’ request.
The Gamecocks didn’t need the motivation. Using another stifling defensive display, Carolina penned a 77-46 win Monday over the Tigers, its first win at Littlejohn Coliseum since 1989.
The game also produced an outcome that would make Gamecock fans jump hysterically on Oprah’s couch. After Monday’s game, the Gamecocks moved to 1st in the nation in field goal defense (29.0 percent), and 3rd in the nation in scoring defense (48.1 ppg).
“Our players did a great job of executing our defensive game plan. We knew that was a strength of our team. We got the hustle things done,” Walvius said afterwards.
Now comes the hard part: parlaying that defense into a showdown with #1 Tennessee, which has steamrolled 5 ranked teams by an average of 22 points.
Embedded in Monday’s win, however, were perhaps the keys to a win over the Vols.
The Gamecocks dismantled Clemson by feeding the post relentlessly. At one point, 34 of Carolina’s first 37 points were scored by interior players. Iva Sliskovic finished with a game-high 15 points, while Larissa Kulcsar scored 14 and Lakesha Tolliver added a career-high 11.
“We knew that they didn’t defend the high-low well. It was a big real emphasis to hit the post early,” junior Lauren Simms said. With five players 6’3″ or taller, the Gamecocks may be one of the few teams that can see eye-to-eye with Tennessee.
The Gamecocks also used their depth to wear down Clemson. The Tigers looked noticeably lagged against Carolina’s defense in the second half, resulting in several fast-break baskets.
Walvius believes her team’s depth can have the same effect Wednesday. “Tennessee loves to run. With some tams, they would feel they couldn’t keep up with Tennessee’s pace. I don’t feel with our team, that’s the case. I think the more speed in this game will play to our favor late in the game,” she said.
Pigeon-holing passes into the post Monday resulted in 25 Gamecock turnovers. Walvius knows her team can’t afford a repeat performance. “I thought we played tight. I think we’ll play with more focus against Tennessee, because we know we have to,” she said.
South Carolina ranks 3rd in the nation in rebounding margin (+13.8). The Gamecocks outrebounded Clemson 45-27. Yet Walvius still sees a concern. “We’re not boxing out. And against a team like Tennessee, you have to box out. Their post players use their bodies extremely well. They’re a very physical team.
“Can we defend them? Yeah, I think we can. Can we rebound with them? We’re not showing the discipline to do that,” she said.
Perhaps a seven-game win streak can add a few inches to the Gamecocks’ verticals. Either way, Carolina feels ready, heading into the rough-and-tumble world of SEC play.
“Beating Clemson definitely gives us a big boost. I think our confidence is right where we need it at for SEC,” Simms said.
TiVo Oprah. It’s time to play Tennessee.
The Tip Drill
Family Ties: Ebony Jones, USC’s walk-on sophomore from Aiken, S.C., was asked if she had ever made the trip up to Clemson. Jones said she had gone only once, “to see my uncle play.”
That relative is former Bears defensive lineman William “The Refrigerator” Perry.
Irrelevant Alert: Referee Eric Brewton has officiated the last three Carolina-Clemson games.
Name Game: The best name in women’s college basketball that I’ve come across this season definitely belongs to East Tennessee State guard B.J. Banjo.
Yeah, But The Incidentals Were Outrageous: Western Carolina head coach Kellie Jolly-Harper and Gamecocks assistant Michelle Marciniak were teammates on Tennessee’s 1996 national championship team. Before Thursday’s game, Jolly-Harper said that she slept on a futon in Marciniak’s apartment during Christmas break her freshman year. Marciniak, for her part, corroborated the story.
Loud & Proud: The next time you go to the Colonial Center, direct your attention to the gray-shirted, leather-lunged superfans seated behind South Carolina’s bench. They call themselves “The Loud Crowd,” and before Thursday’s game they graciously presented me with an honorary T-shirt. The back reads, “South Carolina Swat Team – Talk To The Hand.” Ladies, the creativity does not go unnoticed here on “Beyond The Mic” – keep up the great work.
Andy Demetra is in his third season as the voice of South Carolina women’s basketball on 1320 AM WISW. This summer, he won the South Carolina Broadcasters’ Association’s 2005 South Carolina Radio Sportscaster of the Year award.
“Beyond The Mic” will appear throughout the season.
