Duke, South Carolina aren’t worried about style points

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Ugly victories are quite common in the NCAA Tournament. Duke coach Kara Lawson and South Carolina’s Dawn Staley know that well.

Lawson’s Blue Devils scored just 47 points in their gritty Sweet 16 win over North Carolina on Friday. Staley’s Gamecocks were on the ropes for most of their Sweet 16 game against Maryland before edging the Terrapins 71-67.

Both teams advanced to the Elite Eight. How it happened matters little to their coaches.

“I don’t think that style points are something you’re worried about at any point in the tournament,” said Lawson, who is preparing her second-seeded Duke team to face No. 1 seed South Carolina on Sunday in the Elite Eight. It’ll be the second time the teams face each other this season. The Gamecocks beat Duke 81-70 at home in December.

“You have to get a feel for the game,” Lawson added. “Each game has its own identity, and each game is going to present a problem set for you that you have to try and figure out. Sometimes there’s problem sets you can anticipate. Sometimes you can’t. So it’s really about solving issues in the moment and finding a way to fix them.”

Friday’s problem for the Blue Devils was that they could barely make a basket. Duke shot 31% and missed its first nine baskets. Lawson figured it out by trusting in her team’s identity: defense. They held North Carolina to just six points in the fourth.

In Staley’s eyes, South Carolina’s poor shot selection put it in a hole against Maryland. The Gamecocks did just enough to win, thanks to MiLaysia Fulwiley’s 23 points.

It was the second straight game that the defending champion Gamecocks were tested.

Against Indiana in the second round, South Carolina had to overcome a dreadful first-half performance that left it trailing at the break before rallying in the second half.

That they keep finding ways to win shows her Gamecocks are unflappable, Staley said. And a victory is all that matters at this stage.

“Is it ugly? Yes,” Staley said. “Are people going to say this doesn’t look like a national championship team? Well, I mean, we didn’t look like one last year to most in the beginning of the season. We looked like one in ‘22 — ‘17 we didn’t look like one.

“I think we’re back to where we don’t look like one, and hopefully we can win it and even it out.”

Follow the blueprint

After Maryland played the defending champions close and held them to 38.5% shooting on Friday, coach Brenda Frese said she felt the Terrapins gave other teams “a pretty good blueprint” on how to beat South Carolina.

“The blueprint?” Staley said. “People played us like that ever since we had Aliyah Boston. It’s nothing new. We lead the country in points in the paint. They did a good job executing their game plan, and we did a poor job at shot selection. So we will be better.”

Senior Bree Hall said the Gamecocks don’t expect anyone to take them lightly.

“I’ve said it all year that the target is very big on our back,” Hall added. “Every team is going to bring their best game. Especially in moments like this in the tournament, they’re going to play as hard as they can, try as hard as they can to make every shot that they throw up.”

Mutual respect

Lawson and Staley have crossed paths often in their decorated careers.

Staley was an assistant USA Basketball coach when Lawson played on the Olympic gold medal-winning women’s basketball team in 2008. When Lawson coached the USA Basketball 3-on-3 team in 2020, Staley was the 5-on-5 coach. Duke also held some practices in Columbia, South Carolina, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our relationship is of respect,” Staley said. “I respect the success that Kara is having at Duke. I respect the fact that she has been in our game for a long time at different stops. … She is an Olympian, she is an Olympic assistant coach.

“So for someone that has devoted and served our game as long as she has, you got to tip your hat to her.”

Watch party

Freshman star Cooper Flagg and the No. 1-seed Blue Devils will play second-seeded Alabama on Saturday for a spot in the men’s Final Four. The Duke women’s basketball team will be watching.

“We basically have watch parties,” guard Oluchi Okananwa said. “We’re so proud of them, and we’re excited for them to be on this big stage with us. It’s super cool to have the Duke men in the same position that we are and cheer them on.”

Lawson has a great relationship with men’s coach Jon Scheyer. They often have early morning weight room interactions when their teams go in to lift.

“He’s been a great supporter of mine, and I try to be a great supporter of his,” Lawson said. “So we’re texting each other every day, really, through this run, just words of support — although I haven’t texted him yet today. I don’t think I’m that late because they play tonight. So I will text him.”