Sports
South Carolina at UConn: 2023 women's basketball game preview, TV – Busting Brackets
Jan 5, 2023; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks forward Aliyah Boston (4) grabs a rebound against the Auburn Tigers in the second half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
TV schedule: Sunday, February 5th, 12:00 pm ET, FOX
Arena: XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut
In the women’s game, the UConn Huskies in the Geno Auriemma have been absolutely dominating almost everyone they’ve played. But we may have a new leader in Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks. These two teams played in last year’s national championship game, with the SEC program winning, 64-49. It was the first time that Coach Auriemma lost in a title matchup, winning the first 11 occasions.
South Carolina (22-0, 11-0 SEC) has picked up where it left off, one of two unbeaten teams (LSU) in the country. They’ve been dominating the conference, winning by a margin of around 30 points. Returning Player of the Year Aliyah Boston remains arguably the best two-way player in the country, averaging 12.9 ppg, 10.0 rpg, and 2.1 bpg. The leading scorer is Zia Cooke at 15.1 ppg at 37% shooting from deep.
Due to the blowouts, the Gamecocks aren’t even playing their starters much, with 13 different players having at least 10 mpg on the season. That kind of depth is unmatched and something that UConn (21-2, 13-0 Big East) would love to have more of, dealing with another injury-riddled season.
The Huskies already were without star guard Paige Bueckers for the season after an offseason injury, while most recently, dealing with not having leading scorer Azzi Fudd in the past week after suffering a foot issue. She’s doubtful for the game along with another rotation player, Caroline Ducharme.
The team’s been so hurt that they’ve had to postpone games due to having fewer than seven players available. Even Coach Auriemma has had to miss games due to personal and health issues. But to UConn’s credit, they’re ranked No. 5 nationally and unbeaten in league play, recently beating the second-best team, Villanova.
Even without a couple of star players, the Huskies still have plenty of starpower. Forward Aaliyah Edwards is an All-American candidate, averaging 16.8 ppg and 8.9 rpg. Dorka Juhasz has missed some time but in 16 games is producing 15.0 ppg and 10.4 rpg. In the backcourt, Lou Lopez Senechal is averaging 16.6 ppg while shooting a blistering 47% from three-point range, while point guard Nika Muhl leads the nation with 8.8 apg, including a career-high 15 against NC State earlier in the season.
With the game at UConn and the Gamecocks not having a tough test in a while, this could easily become another thriller between them. But the lack of depth for the Huskies and the fact that Boston could pose a major issue for their frontcourt could stop their offense in its tracks. How Edwards and Juhasz play likely will determine the outcome of this matchup.
Prediction: South Carolina 67, UConn 55
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