South Carolina is ranked second, behind UConn, but that was before Dawn Staley announced the transfer of the ACC Freshman of the Year Kamilla Cardoso, a 6'-7" Post from Syracuse (Montes Claros, Brazil). Kamilla was All ACC in her freshman season and averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds per game. Playing beside Aliyah Boston they will be one of the best paint duos in the country.
The Gamecocks return all of their starters from last season and bring in the number one recruiting class in the country as follows:
Raven Johnson 5'-8" Point Guard is a five star recruit ranked number two in the nation (Atlanta, GA.)
Saniya Rivers 6"-0" Guard is a five star recruit ranked number three in the nation (Wilmington, N.C.)
Sania Feagin 6'-4" Forward is a five star recruit ranked number four in the nation (Ellenwood, GA.)
Aubryanna ("Bree") Hall 5'-11" Guard is a five star recruit ranked number fourteen in the nation (Dayton, Ohio.)
Lele Grissett 6'-2" Grad Student Guard is returning for her second senior year granted by the NCAA.
In women's basketball, success breeds success and Dawn Staley continues year after year to bring in four or five of the best players in the nation. It's also helpful that the university admits 69% of it's applicants. As you know, Stanford admits 4%.
They've scheduled a game against UConn again next season that is being thought of as the Battle of the Titans. Last season USC (the eastern one) lost on a last second jump shot by Paige Bueckers falling out of bounds on the right baseline, heavily guarded.
By March 2022, the Gamecocks will be an awesome contender for Dawn's second National Championship. They've made the Final Four in 2015, 2017, and 2021 and won the title in 2017.
Look for a starting lineup that looks something like this:
Aliyah Boston 6'-5" Junior First Team All American Post Player.
Kamilla Cardoso 6'-7" Sophomore All ACC Power Forward.
Zia Cook 5'-9" Junior Guard NCAA All Tournament Team in 2021.
Raven Johnson 5'-8"Freshman Guard
Destanni Henderson 5'-7" Senior Point Guard
Last April, Tara said we managed to win the semi-final even though we didn't play our "A" game. In the first quarter, we got off to a 15 to 4 rough start. In the second quarter, we shot 5 for 18 or 28%. For the game, we missed twenty contested driving layups, most of which we ordinarily make. We shot 5 of 8 three pointers - while in the previous four games of the tournament, we shot an average of 11 of 25. Thank goodness in the semi-final our "A" game was happening on the defensive end of the floor.
When we beat this sure-to-be-improved Gamecock team next April, you can bet your bottom dollar Stanford will play it's "A" game on both ends of the floor. And I can't wait!
GO CARDINAL!! LET'S GO BACK TO BACK!!
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