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Mechelle VoepelESPN.com
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- Mechelle Voepel covers the WNBA, women’s collegiate basketball and other collegiate sports for espnW. Voepel began covering women’s basketball in 1984 and has been with ESPN since 1996.
MINNEAPOLIS — Brea Beal doesn’t listen to music before games. She doesn’t need the inflation and prefers to stay as still as possible. Zia Cooke is known for her quick sense of humor. And Destanni Henderson has learned to be the general on the field, the one who makes things right.
They are the starting guard for the South Carolina women’s basketball team. And if the Gamecocks are set to win the program’s second NCAA championship, consensus national player of the year Aliyah Boston won’t be the only one who will lead them there. South Carolina’s backcourt will be just as crucial against UConn in Sunday’s national championship game (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).
All three guards arrived in Columbia with high expectations. Henderson, a senior, was No. 6 in the 2018 ESPN HoopGurlz rankings. In the 2019 South Carolina recruiting class, juniors Cooke were No. 4 and Beal was No. 11.
“They have three different personalities that just fit together,” said South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. “Because they logged many minutes together, they play like shorthand. You don’t have to say much. They can look at each other and know exactly what they mean out there on the floor.”
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Of the guards’ relationship, Beal said, “I think the biggest thing is just being able to balance and just having fun and laughing and joking. That’s a turning point: getting to know someone, like heart to heart. So when you’re on the pitch, it’s like a sister relationship, you just trust each other.”
That’s true, Staley said, even if the three don’t hang out off the court all the time.
“I think they have different cliques, but the chemistry that they were able to develop on the court has developed quite well,” said Staley, who is attempting to add a second NCAA title to a 2017 championship. “And they have mutual respect for what they do and what they mean to our team.”
Staley also played frequently in a three-guard backcourt with current Rhode Island coach Tammi Reiss and Dena Evans in the 1990s as a point guard in Virginia and reached three Final Fours. As a coach, Staley has a special relationship — which can include plenty of criticism — with her point guards.
“I’ve always looked at the game differently than a shooting guard or a post player,” Staley said. “I’ve always been able to see the big picture and that’s what I carried. It doesn’t matter if it’s basketball or if it’s just life. I’m a point guard so we’re trained to see everything. We are trained to see the big picture.”
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Brea Beal comes in with the big swat and then races down the course to lay up the fast break.
Henderson had to make that freshman year when it came to her playing time. Henderson came off the bench behind Tyasha Harris in her first two seasons, starting nine of 64 games at that stretch. But over the past two years, Henderson has started every game she’s played. In 2017, Harris helped lead South Carolina to the NCAA title as a freshman point guard. Henderson tries that as a senior.
She averages 11.1 points and a team-best 3.9 assists, and also leads South Carolina with 52 3-pointers. She also excelled in her on-court relationships with Cooke (10.7 PPG, 2.0 RPG) and Beal (5.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG).
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“I could know what they’re good at and just be the point guard that empowers them to be their best self,” Henderson said. “I had to gain experience just to know how to pass on certain information. Just to know who they are as a person.”
At 5-foot-7, Henderson is very quick on and off the ball, and Staley knows she can count on her.
“We didn’t start recruiting Destanni Henderson as a toddler, but she was so tiny,” Staley said. “She told us very early in the process that she was coming and stayed committed to us during a first year that you want to forget … because she didn’t have a really strong experience for one reason or another.
“She is the ultimate teammate. She is one who always gives us what we need.”
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Zia Cooke comes in with a nice steal and then flies to the other end for a quick layup for South Carolina.
On Friday, Beal, Cooke and Henderson had a combined 33 points and shot 48% off the field in South Carolina’s 72-59 win over Louisville. The trio had shot 29% from the field at the NCAA tournament en route to the Final Four. And Beal’s stifling defense helped force Louisville star Hailey Van Lith into a 4-for-11 shootout.
“She makes everyone’s life difficult. And we love that,” Boston said. “Off the pitch she sometimes hits you with great sarcasm.”
This can even slip out on the court, for example when opponents are so frustrated by Beal’s area coverage that they bark at them. Beal’s responses might get a little fiery in return.
“Brea is funny because she’s not trying to be funny,” Cooke said. “Brea is super calm, cool and relaxed. But when you take her out of who she is and get her to give that back to you, it’s kind of funny.”
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Destanni Henderson makes it big as she knocks down another 3-pointer corner for South Carolina.
Look for Cooke as the one trying to be funny.
“Zia is a comedian,” Boston said. “The mood around her is always good. On the pitch we can count on her to take a shot, think things through and attack the basket.”
In November’s game with UConn in the Bahamas, a 73-57 Gamecocks win, the South Carolina trio of starting guards combined for 38 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and eight steals.
UConn’s Paige Bueckers, Christyn Williams and Evina Westbrook combined for 43 points, seven rebounds, 13 assists and two steals. With the Guards largely tied, Boston’s dominance — 22 points, 15 rebounds — could make the difference.
The 6-5 Boston appreciates the guard game around them.
“Henny brings the energy,” Boston said. “On the pitch, she has different bursts of speed. She controls the game, controls the pace.
“Together on the pitch [with Beal and Cook], they are a deadly combination. They work really well together and really understand where the other needs to be and what needs to happen.”