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Guess who won the Soapbox Derby!
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With South Carolina rotating 8-9 players and UConn basically playing 5 players 40 minutes each, you can't compare player to player. So here is a position by position comparison.
PG - Muhl vs Fletcher and Johnson.
What can be said about Nika that hasn't been said before. She is having a great season. Watch her play and you can see an evolving great point guard. On the Leiberman watch list she is having an amazing season. And she is clearly the leader of this team.
I would say even the most loyal SC fan would say that Fletcher is not what they expected from the Georgia Tech transfer. She has not embraced the position, to the point where Staley only players her 16 MPG. Johnson, a RS freshman, is a talented player still finding her way. She also plays 16 MPG with similar stats. They shoot 38% from the field and 8-48 on threes.
Advantage UCONN
SG - Lopez Senechal vs Cooke and Hall.
Throw out the last two games. Lou is having a great season. Shooting 48% on threes and averaging 16.6 PPG
Cooke is leading the Gamecocks in scoring. And three point percentage (37%). She will get 30+ minutes in this game so it is basically a 1-1 comparison. The position declines when Hall is in but it won't be for many minutes. Dawn will ride the starter for most of the game. I love her comment about Cooke's inconsistancy. "I think sometimes she may press a little bit, but it doesn't stop her from defending and doing other things. She'll get back on it. I'm almost positive she'll get back on it."
Advantage even
SF/G - Griffin vs Beal/Watkins
Griffin has bounced back from her back injury and has showed her skills on both offense and defense. Averaging 13.8 PPG she is shooting 59% from the field and grabbing 7.1 RPG. And her defense is top notch.
Beal will see the majority at this position. Her defense is that important. She has had some good offensive games and shoots 40% on her limited three point shots. But she only shoots 38.5% overall. 5.4 PPG and 4.0 RPG. It is doubtful that Watkins gets many minutes if any. Amihere might get some here.
Advantage UConn
PF - Edwards vs Saxton/Amihere/Cardoso
Do I have to do a detailed comparison here? Edwards is an AA candidate and the Saxton/Amihere is a good defensive duo but they don't add much offense to the game. Cardoso plays some minutes here and more at Center
Advantage UConn but Cardoso is the wild card.
C - Juhasz vs Boston/Cardoso
Just named to the Lisa Leslie list, Dorka is getting the recognition she deserves. South Carolina hasn't seen this version of her game. Boston is Boston and she can dominate a game on both sides of the ball. Cardoso is the third leading scorer for the Gamecocks and is a force under the basket.
Advantage South Carolina but not as much as years past.
I'll say it again, if UConn can get 38-40 minutes from each starter and the three days off reinvigorates the players, they have the advantage in the player-player comparision.
Yes, I'm the eternal optimist.
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