South Carolina women’s basketball Insider Analysis: UCLA
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– Zia Cooke finished with six points on 2-10 shooting and it was one of the best games she’s played. Her defense on Kiki Rice was extraordinary and it was a big reason UCLA had its worst offensive performance in almost a decade.
Rice only scored three points. One on a free throw when she was fouled in transition, and two on a jumper when she got open on a screen. That was the only basket Cooke allowed, and it arguably was the help defender’s fault, not hers.
I asked her if she knew how many points she had given up, and she wasn’t sure.
“It was very few because I don’t remember her shooting it,” Cooke said.
Cooke took a beating running into some of those screens, one of the reasons she only played 25 minutes. She said she fine after the game and shrugged off the contact.
“We were trying our hardest to get over them,” she said. “They were setting some very hard screens.”
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– Breezy Hall is going to need another nickname at the rate she is playing. Hall had 10 points to tie for the team lead despite playing just 16 minutes. She also had three rebounds, and assist, and a steal.
In the postseason, Hall is averaging 5.5 points and shooting 5-7 from three. Her shots are coming in the flow of the offense and in rhythm, so there is nothing fluky about them. She also runs the court extremely well and has been good for one or two transition layups per game.
“I think the biggest difference is my confidence, honestly. I think last year I kind of struggled, especially at this time, with my confidence and knowing what I’m supposed to be doing out there on the court,” Hall said. “I think just Coach has really been in my ear, telling me to just do what I do best. And it’s just a great feeling, it really is, because, if you guys haven’t seen, on the bench, every time I score, they’re so excited, so happy. I’m coming out of the game, Zia and Ki are giving me a hug, and it’s really a great feeling.”
Hall’s offensive impact doesn’t lessen her defensive impact, either. She was effective as the backup defender on both Charisma Osborne and Rice.
– UCLA’s Emily Bessoir hurt her leg in the second half and South Carolina had a five-on-four break. Once the Gamecocks were unable to take immediate advantage, Dawn Staley told the officials to stop play so the trainers could check on Bessoir.
Cori Close thanked Staley after the game.
“What it showed, is her class and her global view of the game and what was most important in that moment,” Close said. “She did call that time-out only because of Emily being down, and I just — right after the play, I just turned to her and I just said, Thank you, Dawn, and she acknowledged.”
Bessoir was able to return to the game after a few minutes.
– I confirmed with Kamilla Cardoso that she did in fact watch film of UCLA, with the team and on her own. She likes to tell jokes with the media folks now. Like when she said she didn’t understand a question and directed it to Laeticia Amihere so she could eat. I told her I’d noticed her passing was getting better.
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