1/4/2024 0 Comments Beyond hello las vegas![]() ![]() ![]() Said Staley of Pili during one in-game interview: “Once she gets to your body, it’s over.” Not many players have that perfectly balanced combination of physicality and finesse. At one point, she scored 16 points in a row. South Carolina coach Dawn Staley threw the kitchen sink at her, and she finessed her way around every challenge - to the tune of a career-high 37 points on 23 shot attempts. And yet Sunday, when the Utes went toe-to-toe with the nation’s top team, they showed up and showed why they deserve the bump to No. It’s not a recipe for automatic success, and certainly not when you have South Carolina looming. Insert senior Dasia Young, who started only 12 games over the previous two seasons. Then, the Utes lost Gianna Kneepkens - the experienced long-range sharpshooter - to a season-ending foot injury. Coach Lynne Roberts turned to junior Inês Vieira, who started 14 games last season but gives up a bit in terms of size to Palmer. Utah lost senior guard Isabel Palmer - an 18-game starter last season - three games into the season to a knee injury. But you want to talk about a team that has taken its hits, adjusted and … stayed the course (or gotten better)? Look no further than the Utes. There have been too many big injuries to contenders already this season. There’s familiarity between these teams after last season’s matchup, and I would love to sit courtside while Kamilla Cardoso and Lauren Betts go up against each other and the guards on both squads face off. This weekend made me wish even harder for a South Carolina-UCLA title game. put on a show to help secure the dub for the Bruins □ #NCAAWBB x /3KK圆ywyjuīut for now, South Carolina sits at 1A and the Bruins at 1B. No home-court advantage in any of these games. Notably, UCLA and South Carolina have picked up these wins away from home. The Bruins have wins over Florida State and UConn. They’re both excellent teams, but I put South Carolina on top because the Gamecocks have better wins at this point: Utah, Notre Dame and North Carolina. They looked good against Florida State, and the more this sophomore core comes along for the Bruins, the tougher they will be. But I won’t argue against anyone who opts to put the Bruins in that top spot. I decided against it because I think the Gamecocks still own that spot. Like Sabreena last week, I gave serious consideration to whether UCLA deserved to be No. ![]() Almost famous: Green Bay, West Virginia, North Carolina ![]()
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