South Carolina women’s basketball: How Lauren Betts is giving the Gamecocks a taste of their own medicine

There are many coaches around the country who are probably experiencing a bit of injury fun this weekend. For most of the last decade, opposing coaches have faced the nearly impossible task of defending South Carolina’s fearsome low post game.

But on Sunday, the shoe is on the other foot. Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks face the daunting task of trying to limit the Bruins’ punishing post players.

For more than a decade, South Carolina has had one dominant post after another, and usually more than one at a time.

From Alaina Coates to A’ja Wilson to Aliyah Boston to Kamilla Cardoso, the Gamecocks have had an almost unmatched lineup of dominant bigs.

But they are all gone and no one has emerged to replace them.

In Westwood, it’s a different story. Lauren Betts, the former top recruit, has looked like one of the best players in the country. She is backed up by Janhiah Barker, who was the third overall recruit after Betts in 2022 and was a former All-SEC player.

(Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Duke WBB game)

Betts is averaging 21.5 points and 11.5 rebounds, while Barker is chipping in 11.3 points and 9.8 rebounds.

UCLA also has Timea Gardiner (14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds) and Angela Dugalić (9.0 points and 9.0 rebounds), giving the Bruins post depth not seen since, well, the Gamecocks.

But it’s Betts, South Carolina, to watch. She’s an automatic mismatch at 6-7, and she has a good mid-range shooting touch. As a result, Betts is shooting 72.2% this season.

“A lot of ways, with a lot of different sizes, a lot of different bodies, a lot of different abilities,” Staley said. “I would imagine it’s just going to be a tough match for all of us. She poses a different challenge than even with Kamilla. It’s a little bit different. Kamilla could roam on the outside and go inside. Betts is really good when she comes two legs in the paint. So we have to do our best not to give her that kind of look. 79% (shooting) probably isn’t good math is so efficient.”

South Carolina has plenty of depth, the Gamecocks just lack the best player other teams lose sleep over. But Staley has said repeatedly this season that she likes how each of her frontcourt players brings different skills to the game and thus different advantages and disadvantages.

Sania Feagin starts in the middle but she is more of a four converted to five and defense is not her forte. However, she is the most versatile offensive player in the group.

Ashlyn Watkins, who was expected to be the next big post, may be the most athletic player in the country. She’s South Carolina’s best defender, but she’s only 6-3.

It continues for the rest of the group. Adhel Tac probably matches up best with Betts in terms of size. Maryam Dauda can shoot threes and draw Betts away from the paint. Sakima Walker has a mix of size and scoring.

“So the more we get Feagin and Chloe (Kitts) and Joyce (Edwards) able to get some miles, that’s only going to help us. And I want to extend that to Maryam and Kima and Adhel. We’re just trying to strengthen our bench. At this point, we know what Ashlyn will bring. The sharper we are to everyone else, the harder it will be to scout us.”

Staley obviously won’t release the game plan, but that’s the gist of it. Throw multiple players at Betts, make her play in different ways, and make her defend.

“We’re going to go in there with confidence, just like we do every game,” she said. “And if we need to make adjustments, we will make adjustments.”