"It's not rocket science": Dawn Staley explains what South Carolina needs to do to overcome Vanderbilt in upcoming game
The sixth-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks, coached by Dawn Staley, will have to face a gutsy unranked squad on Sunday. Despite their 19-8 overall record, the Commodores have struggled against their Southeastern Conference opponents and have a 6-7 record. Vanderbilt's biggest upset in conference play was the 71-70 win against No. 15 Tennessee on Jan. 20.
The defending national champion, South Carolina, is 24-3 overall with a 12-1 record in conference play. During her media availability on Friday, Dawn Staley detailed their game plan against the Commodores.
"Defend. We have to play our defense," Staley said. "We have to be disciplined. They got really great scorers that we have to disrupt, that we have to just kind of cut the production down, any amount of clean looks, any amount of less free throws.
"So, that's what we got to do. I mean, it's not rocket science. It is what it is. It is out will against their will."
Vanderbilt is led by a sensational rookie in Mikayla Blakes, who broke her own freshman scoring record with a 55-point explosion for her team's 98-88 overtime victory against the Auburn Tigers on Feb. 16. Her previous record was the 53 points she scored during the Commodores' 99-86 win over the Florida Gators on Jan. 30.
Despite this, the Gamecocks possess tenacious defenders such as MiLaysia Fulwiley and Te-Hina Paopao. To go along with this, South Carolina has their own freshman standout in Joyce Edwards, who will surely have a surefire matchup against Blakes.
Dawn Staley details how they aim to contain Mikayla Blakes
In her interview, Dawn Staley dove deeper into how she was willing to use her players to try to contain Mikayla Blakes. Through this, the South Carolina Gamecocks hope to focus on other aspects of the fixture that could lead them to victory.
"I mean, it's hard to stop when you got the greenest of green light, it's hard to stop," Staley said. "You're unafraid, you have no fear of missed shots, you have no fear of turning the ball over, you have no fear.
"You got to control what you can control. You can control if you're following her or not. You can control whether or not you're giving her clean looks. Those are the things that we can control and we just try to get her to play inefficient basketball."
Dawn Staley and Co. are coming off of a huge 40-point blowout triumph against the unranked Arkansas Razorbacks, 95-55, on their home floor on Thursday. They will use the momentum they gained to their advantage against the Commodores.