What's new
By:
Filters
Gamecock Fanatics

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

No. 1 Gamecocks stay perfect in showdown win over No. 3 LSU

gamecockfanatics.com

No. 1 Gamecocks stay perfect in showdown win over No. 3 LSU

No. 1 Gamecocks stay perfect in showdown win over No. 3 LSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL. FEBRUARY 12, 2023 PDF BOXSCORE POSTGAME PRESSER COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — LSU coach Kim Mulkey understands dominance and saw it again on Sunday. “It’s South Carolina...
gamecockfanatics.com gamecockfanatics.com
 
Click to expand...
This team seems to be focused like a lazer. They are on a mission. That's not to say they can't stumble along the way but I like their chances. The huge advantage this team has is its very deep bench. I would bet that we could put our "second team" on the floor and on their own they would beat most teams.

We have seen this play out game after game. Most (if not all) teams are simply worn out/wearing down by the 4th quarter. Prior to the last couple of games Boston was only averaging about 24 minutes a game. Contrast that with most stars on other teams that are averaging 34 - 36 minutes a game.

On a side note it was said on 107.5 this morning that LSU came into this game "chirping a little bit" (Angel Reese has a reputation of being quite the trash talker) and the girls took great exception to that.
 
Coach Mulkey was highly complimentary about SC during the post game interview. Praised Cooke for her defense, siting that she is always in a defensive stance, and hopes her freshmen players can learn to do that by the time they are seniors. Cooke is usually only noticed for her offense, glad to see Zia get some recognition for her defense. This year, I think Zia is the best player on the team for fighting though screens; she is tenacious.

The mark of a good coach is the players getting better. Zia has definitely improved her defense over her time at SC, and is a complete player. Brea Beal, long touted as one of our stoppers on defense (usually paired against the other team's best scorer) has steadily improved her offense. She is hitting clutch threes now, or driving fearlessly to the hoop -- she has improved. Cardoso has improved pretty dramatically from her first year here in which she was primarily a shot blocker and rebounder to where she also is a strong offensive threat.

I'm really proud of the growth and development of this team. Much praise to the coaches and players for their work. It's a pleasure to watch them play.
 
The backstory that no one wanted to talk was that Britney Griner played for Mulkey at Texas and also won gold on Dawn's 5x5 team in Tokyo in 2021, one day past the 76th anniversary of the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima.

When Griner was arrested in Russia, Mulkey famously kept silent, while Dawn became a passionate advocate for her eventual release. That may have been the reason Game Day didn't come down for this high profile game.

People obviously have their different opinions about Dawn supporting Griner, but the fact that Griner was a recent Olympic athlete for us probably carried some weight in her harsh sentence.

Olympic runner Louie Zamperini was the subject of the inspiring book and movie Unbroken and also won gold for us in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. His fame may have kept himself and the two other survivors of his downed B-24 Liberator bomber from being executed by the Japanese on a remote Pacifice Island, but probably caused him more difficulties as a POW. I am talking about when the Japanese officer in the POW camp nicknamed "The Bird" intentionally broke Zamperini's ankle and destroyed his running career as documented in the movie.

That may have been the type of treatment Griner was going to get in that Russian prison colony. Zamperini was a wayward youth who was on the wrong side of the law before he made running his passion and turned his life around, so nobody's perfect.

Dawn stood up for Griner while Mulkey kept silent. Which coach won this game decisively? Right.

The athletes won this game for sure, but they get their passion and drive from their coach to a certain degree.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top