The defending ACC Tournament champion, No. 8 NC State, is set to travel to Columbia, South Carolina to take on No. 1 South Carolina Thursday night. The Gamecocks (3-0) are coming off a 79-72 win over then-No. 21 Gonzaga. Playing the No. 1 team in the country will give the Wolfpack (2-0) a better understanding of where it sits amongst the top teams in women’s basketball.
South Carolina is coached by the legendary Dawn Staley, who, similar to Wes Moore, brought the program from the ground up. She led the team to a national title in 2017 and might have been on the way to another one if not for COVID-19 canceling the 2020 NCAA Tournament. Staley will have her team ready to play a top-10 matchup, no questions asked.
“It’s a great opportunity; it’s a big challenge,” said NC State head coach Wes Moore in a virtual press conference Tuesday. “Dawn Staley has done an unbelievable job of building that program.”
South Carolina has scoring threats all over the floor and, through three games, is averaging 93 points a game. In its first game against College of Charleston, the Gamecocks ran rampant for 119 points. On the other hand, South Carolina’s defense gives up just 60.3 points a game.
“[South Carolina] is going to show you all your weaknesses; they’re going to exploit everything you need to get better at,” Moore said. “…You can measure yourself and see where you are.”
Running the show at point guard for the Gamecocks this season is Destanni Henderson. She is averaging 17.7 points a game, with six rebounds and 3.3 assists. In the Gamecocks’ last two games at the Women’s Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic, Henderson really excelled.
Henderson is not the only scoring threat South Carolina has. Also leading the team in scoring is Zia Cooke, with 17.7 points a game as well. The sophomore guard, alongside Henderson, presents one of the strongest backcourts in the nation.
At 6-foot-5, Aliyah Boston is the go-to big for the Gamecocks. Last season, she won the Lisa Leslie award for the top center in the country as a freshman. This season, she is averaging 11 points and 8.3 rebounds. Boston against NC State junior center Elissa Cunane will be a key battle to watch in the paint. It is rare that Cunane has opportunities to go up against an opponent her size. This, however, is one of those occasions where she will.
“It’s two of the top posts in the country [Boston and Cunane],” Moore said. “Just understanding though, it’s still South Carolina against NC State and don’t blow that matchup so much that it’s the only thing we look at.”
The Gamecocks as a team can rebound with the best of them. From top to bottom, not just their forwards. So far, they are out-rebounding teams by 20 a game. Cunane and sophomore forward Jada Boyd will have their work cut out for them Thursday night around the rim.
All five starters for the Wolfpack are averaging double-digits through two games. That being said, the two leaders at this point offensively are senior guard Kai Crutchfield and Cunane, averaging 15.5 and 14.5 points per game, respectively. If the Wolfpack want to leave Columbia with a program defining victory, these two will need to play big.
The highly anticipated matchup will tip off at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3 from Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. The Wolfpack and the Gamecocks will play for a national audience on ESPN2, and you can keep up with live analysis by following @TechSports on Twitter.
