If you could hand pick a team for the Cougs to play to make it to our first Final 4 in our life time, South Carolina might be that team. Don't get me wrong, at this level there are no gimmes. Hell, they are the #2 seed and have only one loss, but they are oh so short. We start one lady "in the field" who is less than 5' 8," they have 3 players who start who are 5'8" or more. Half their starting "in the field" 10, are 5'6'' or less, 4 are 5'3" or less.
If you are an English style, direct, play the ball into space, attack with pace team, like we are, you want to match up against a shorter team. Not only do you have a big advantage on corners, and crosses into the box, short players, while tending to be quick off the line, and agile, can have problems with sustained pace, particularity the more you make them run i.e. West Virginia. They were so spent by the half, we utterly dominated the second.
While this appears to be the prototypical of team the Cougs were built to beat, we must defend in numbers to make up for their likely "quickness" and agility advantage. Frankly, and not to take the shine off our truly throttling performance, West Virginia had way to much space in our half in the first half, which is concerning since we attack with pace, not numbers, and should always have numbers back in defense, and didn't. We can assume South Carolina will have players, West Virginia didn't, who will make us pay if we don't play stout, numbers driven, defense and allow them to play their game, not ours.
Tidy up the defense, keep the foot on the gas from minute one, make it a track meet and see if South Carolina can keep up.
I really like are chances at history.
If you are an English style, direct, play the ball into space, attack with pace team, like we are, you want to match up against a shorter team. Not only do you have a big advantage on corners, and crosses into the box, short players, while tending to be quick off the line, and agile, can have problems with sustained pace, particularity the more you make them run i.e. West Virginia. They were so spent by the half, we utterly dominated the second.
While this appears to be the prototypical of team the Cougs were built to beat, we must defend in numbers to make up for their likely "quickness" and agility advantage. Frankly, and not to take the shine off our truly throttling performance, West Virginia had way to much space in our half in the first half, which is concerning since we attack with pace, not numbers, and should always have numbers back in defense, and didn't. We can assume South Carolina will have players, West Virginia didn't, who will make us pay if we don't play stout, numbers driven, defense and allow them to play their game, not ours.
Tidy up the defense, keep the foot on the gas from minute one, make it a track meet and see if South Carolina can keep up.
I really like are chances at history.
