South Carolina women’s basketball vs Duke score prediction for Dawn Staley vs Kara Lawson matchup

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COLUMBIA — South Carolina women’s basketball has a top 10 matchup this week.

Coach Dawn Staley and the No. 4 Gamecocks (7-1) host No. 9 Duke on Thursday (9 p.m., ESPN) in Colonial Life Arena for the 2024 SEC-ACC Challenge. It’s the second consecutive season they have hosted the Blue Devils (8-1). South Carolina beat Duke 77-61 in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 3, 2023.

Coach Kara Lawson is in her fifth season with Duke after spending time as an assistant with the Boston Celtics.

Here’s what to know before tipoff:

Guard duo leads scoring for Duke women’s basketball

Reigan Richardson and Ashlon Jackson are the leading scorers for Duke this season, averaging 15 and 14.9 points per game respectively. Richardson is a 5-foot-11 senior guard who scored 17 points against the Gamecocks last season. This season she’s shooting 42.9% from the 3-point line as she’s taken 35 3-point shots. She had 35 points in the overtime win over Oklahoma on Nov. 27.

Jackson, a 6-foot junior has taken a team high 48 3-point shots and is shooting 45.8% from the distance. Against Kansas State on Nov. 25, she had 30 points on 12-of-19 from the field, including 6-of-9 from behind the arc. She’s scored 10 or more points in seven of Duke’s nine games.

How South Carolina and Duke compare in height

Unlike UCLA, where South Carolina faced 6-7 Lauren Betts, Duke’s tallest player is 6-4 Jordan Wood, who is averaging 16 minutes and 8.4 points per game off the bench.

Toby Fournier, a 6-2 freshman also comes off the bench and is averaging 11.9 points per game, has 10 blocks and had 25 points in the win over Belmont on Nov. 21.

South Carolina has a slight height advantage with 6-5 Sakima Walker and Adhel Tac, 6-4 Maryam Dauda, and 6-3 Ashlyn Watkins as options off the bench.

Delaney Thomas, a 6-3 sophomore and 6-foot sophomore Jadyn Donovan start in the forward spots for Duke matching up against Sania Feagin at 6-3 and Chloe Kitts at 6-4.

General comparison for South Carolina and Duke women’s basketball

Bench points: South…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/south-carolina-womens-basketball-vs-101145072.html

Author : Greenville News

Publish date : 2024-12-04 10:11:00

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