South Carolina just logged its fifth game of the season with over 100 points scored. Their opponents didn’t even reach the fifty-point mark. For Dawn Staley, it’s not about the score, though. It’s about whether her team reaches a certain standard—something she thought it did for the first time in this 103-44 win over USF.
When asked how she balances rotations in a blowout, Staley said, “We only have nine players that are healthy, so there’s no choice in that somebody that plays significant minutes is always going to be on the floor, but, at the same time, we really aren’t looking at the score. We’re actually looking at how disciplined and playing to a standard for 40 minutes, and we haven’t done that probably until today.”
She also added, “I thought we were pretty locked in for 40 minutes. There were very little lapses defensively…Even the ones that don’t play a lot, they were locked in and they were disciplined, so we’re making progress.”
South Carolina experienced a lot of turnover
This season’s South Carolina roster is quite different from the stacked rosters Dawn Staley usually assembles. Injuries and significant roster turnover left Staley with a roster filled with players who either came from other programs, are new to the college game entirely, or didn’t play much for her last season and a thin bench.
Out of the ten players that averaged over 15 minutes per game last season, only three are playing this season. Bree Hall, Sania Faegin, and Te-Hina Paopao went to the W, MiLaysia Fulwiley transferred to LSU, and Chloe Kitts is out with an injury, leaving only Raven Johnson, Tessa Johnson, and Joyce Edwards.
The other two starters—Ta’Niya Latson and Madina Okot—transferred to South Carolina ahead of this season and needed some time to get used to the new system and their new roles. The bench, meanwhile, is filled with two freshmen in Agot Makeer and Ayla McDowell, and players, who didn’t play much last season. Maddy McDaniel is the only bench player who averaged more than seven minutes per game last season.
With all that turnover and two new faces in the starting lineup, the Gamecocks were bound to take some time to figure things out and play up to Staley’s standards.
South Carolina dominated almost every aspect of the game against USF
The Gamecocks didn’t shoot the three well, converting only four of their fifteen 3-point attempts. They succeeded in every other aspect of the game, though.
USF shot only 31% from the field, while South Carolina converted 63% of its shots. The Gamecocks also dominated the rebounding battle, the paint, and the fast break. They scored 34 fast-break points compared to USF’s five and got 74 points in the paint, while only allowing USF to score 28. South Carolina also recorded more assists, steals, and blocks, and got 38 points off 23 turnovers by USF.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that USF is far from the toughest competition South Carolina will face. If the Gamecocks want to hang with some of the top teams in the country, they will have to continuously meet the high standard Staley sets for her team. The team’s biggest test will come on January 15 against Texas. South Carolina lost its first game against Texas by two points.