LAS VEGAS – When No. 2 South Carolina and No. 4 Texas play for the Players Era Championship title Thursday, it will be both a rematch and a preview.
It’s a rematch of last season’s national semifinal, which the Gamecocks won 74-57, and a preview of their January SEC regular-season matchup and potential conference tournament meeting.
Texas defeated UCLA 76-65 in the tournament opener Wednesday, fueled by a 26-point performance from 5-foot-6 senior point guard Rori Harmon. The Gamecocks then topped Duke 83-66 behind elite post play from 6-foot-6 senior center Madina Okot and 6-foot-3 sophomore forward Joyce Edwards, who had 23 and 22 points, respectively.
Now, the two SEC squads will play for the fifth time this calendar year, with South Carolina owning a 3-1 advantage.
Texas likely will use a game plan similar to the one used against UCLA and its 6-foot-7 center, Lauren Betts. In order to slow Betts, who finished with just eight points, the Longhorns prioritized ball pressure on the Bruins’ guards. Coach Vic Schaefer said his goal was to force UCLA to start its offense “30 feet from the rim,” something the Longhorns executed to perfection.
“I thought our guards did a really nice job that first half of basically making it really hard to enter the ball inside,” he said. “We held the kid to eight points. She’s really good, by the way.”
Texas will have to apply that same type pressure against South Carolina – with the added challenge of slowing two dominant bigs instead of one.
Okot is a true center, while Edwards can run the floor and score in the midrange. After seven games together – Okot is a transfer from Mississippi State, while Edwards is a holdover – they are starting to find their groove, taking advantage of the high-low game.
“I’m not big into, like, rankings or anything like that,” Duke coach Kara Lawson said. “But they’ve got to be one of the top frontcourts in the country when you look at the talent of the both of them together. They’re really, really good. Tough to defend.”
In addition to applying pressure on South Carolina’s guards, Texas needs big defensive performances from 6-foot-6 senior Kyla Oldacre and 6-foot-4 junior Breya Cunningham.
Meanwhile, South Carolina’s defensive focus figures to be on 6-foot-1 point forward Madison Booker. Last season, Booker was held to 11 or fewer points in each of Texas’ three losses to South Carolina. In the lone Longhorns win, she scored 20 points.
“The first person on everybody’s scouting report is Madison,” Schaefer said. “Then, they’re going to come to Rori. Then they’re probably going to go to our inside players.”
That leaves room for players like 6-foot guard Jordan Lee, who had 13 points against UCLA, to find their spots. Lee is the Longhorns’ second-leading scorer behind Booker (14.6 points per game) and top three-point shooter, making 1.6 per game at a 36.4 percent clip.
Lee is taking on a larger role this season after coming off the bench as a freshman. She also has developed into one of Texas’ top defenders, and had three steals and four blocks against UCLA.
“If you’re physical and you are where you’re supposed to be, you’re able to get your hand on a couple of those balls,” Lee said of her defensive approach.
Texas and South Carolina have two of the best defenses in the country. Both hold opponents to just 49.2 points per game. Texas has the NCAA’s best defensive rating, allowing just 63.4 points per 100 possessions. South Carolina isn’t far behind, at 68.4
It’s going to be a rock fight. The best part? No matter the result, we get to see these two battle it out at least one more time this season.
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