Gamecocks count on Beal as star defender

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina guard Brea Beal is more than the X factor in one of the country’s best defenses. She’s also a four-year lesson in sacrifice and reinvention, a committed athlete who may soon add a second straight NCAA title to her basketball resumé.

She is generally third when most think of Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley’s landmark recruiting class from 2019 led by heralded All-American Aliyah Boston and Zia Cooke, the team’s leading scorer this season. Beal, though, could have the most critical role for the team at the Final Four, most likely checking All-American Caitlin Clark of Iowa in the national semifinals.

The Gamecocks (36-0) face the Hawkeyes (30-6) in Friday night’s second game in Dallas. LSU (32-2) and Virginia Tech (31-4) meet in the first semifinal at 7 p.m., and the winners will face off Sunday in the title game.

Beal, who has started 136 of 137 games in her four seasons, and her senior teammates have racked up championships in their time. They have won three Southeastern Conference tournament titles, have been to three straight Final Fours and are chasing their second consecutive NCAA crown.

Beal takes on the opponent’s best player and, more times than not, limits her effectiveness — a role that took Beal time to embrace.

“It definitely came with some hardship, but throughout time I just walked into it,” she said last weekend at the Greenville 1 Regional.

It wasn’t exactly the path Beal envisioned after a celebrated prep career. She was a threetime Illinois Ms. Basketball, averaging 20 or more points a game her final three seasons at Rock Island High School. She joined Tamika Catchings and Candace Parker, who both on to decorated careers with the Tennessee Lady Volunteers and in the WNBA, as the only players in the state to earn that award as a sophomore.

Beal expected to make the offensive impact that Boston and Cooke have had with the Gamecocks.

“It’s not necessarily something I was like, ‘I’m this defender, I’m the best defender,’” Beal said. “It came naturally, just as well as offensively, it’s just something you’ve got to be patient and just accept as time goes.”

Staley sees Beal’s value as more than what she does on the court.

Beal didn’t look to transfer during an era when it has become easier and more common, and she did not complain about not scoring more often. She has kept her head down, Staley said, and made herself an indispensable part of a dominant era for South Carolina.

“It took her time to just really relax and see where she can find spots to be effective,” Staley said. “Now that she’s a senior, she sees it.”

Clark would have to be one of Beal’s most difficult assignments. The Iowa star had a triple-double (41 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds) in the Hawkeyes’ 97-83 victory over Louisville on Sunday night, which sent the program to its first Final Four appearance in 30 years.

Clark is not one-dimensional — “I pride myself in doing a lot of different things for this team,” she said — and Beal understands it will take a team effort to slow her down.

South Carolina has relied on its defense throughout Beal’s time, and this year’s run is no different. The Gamecocks lead the country in blocks and rebound margin, are second in field-goal percentage defense and are third in points allowed.

Cooke believes it’s Beal’s defensive focus that has all the Gamecocks looking to raise their intensity on that end of the court.

“She’s the one that taught us how to play defense,” Cooke said. “Especially me. Just watching her and the things she does definitely wore off on me.”

Cooke’s offense may be elevating Beal’s game as of late. Beal has scored in double digits in eight games this season, seven of those since the start of February. She had 10 points in a 59-43 win over UCLA in the Sweet 16 and 16 in an 86-75 victory over Maryland in the Elite Eight.

Once considered the most likely of the 2019 freshmen class to play an extra season as granted by the NCAA due to the coronavirus pandemic, the dual threat has been rising in WNBA mock drafts. ESPN.com has projected her getting called seventh in next month’s draft, going to the Indiana Fever in the first round.

Beal isn’t worried about her pro prospects or savoring all she has accomplished. She only wants to finish her college career with another championship moment — and that means dialing up the defense.

“We’re a defensively minded team,” she said. “When we come to this part of the season, we definitely need our defense from every single individual.”