The No. 1 South Carolina women’s basketball team is returning to the court after becoming the 10th team and fifth program to lead an undefeated national championship campaign during the 2023-24 season.
The Gamecocks' focus is solely on looking forward, as last season’s historic run doesn’t come up amongst this year's group of players, senior guard Bree Hall said.
“We really don’t talk about it,” Hall said. “It’s the same thing as last year. We kind of just took every game and played our best for that game. We weren’t really looking into the future and saying, ‘Oh, we’re gonna win,’ or whatever.”
The Gamecocks have eight players returning from last season, headlined by senior guard Te-Hina Paopao, junior guard Raven Johnson and sophomore guard MiLaysia Fulwiley, all of whom made Preseason All-SEC teams. All three also received a single vote each for the Associated Press’ preseason All-American roster, which consists of the players projected to be the best in women's basketball that season.
That number does not include junior forward Ashlyn Watkins, who is currently suspended from the program, and freshman Adhel Tac, who joined South Carolina early during the 2023-24 season to rehab from a knee injury suffered during her senior season of high school.
The returning talent makes practices a lot quicker, head coach Dawn Staley said.
“That’s the cool thing about bringing back almost your entire team,” Staley said. “We don't have to spend three hours in here beating them over the head with stuff, we just have to get in what we need to get in … they come in ready to go, it’s their norm, it’s a good thing.”
Returning that many players has the team in a better place than it was at this time last season, Paopao said.
“We bring that up constantly to remind ourselves that we can’t be where we were last year during this time and just how our practices were,” Paopao said. “I’m very happy where we’re at right now and we’re excited to showcase that.”
South Carolina did have some new faces join the program, though. The Gamecocks added two freshmen ,forward Joyce Edwards and guard Maddy McDaniel, and Maryam Dauda, a junior forward who transferred from Arkansas, to the roster during the offseason.
The newcomers to the Gamecocks' roster bring their vocal energy to that connection and are getting better every day, Hall said.
“Joyce (is) very energetic, very outgoing. You guys are going to have a great time watching her play … We call her a crashout,” Hall said. “Marya (is) very sweet but she’s soaking in the game and improving every day ... and Maddie, oh my god, yeah she's just getting better every day.”
One thing the Gamecocks are working on in practice is the team’s next steps after winning the national championship, Johnson said.
“(I'm) looking for myself more and being a little bit more selfish and greedier,” Johnson said. “Knowing when to score and how to get myself those baskets. I would definitely say she’s (Staley) right about that, and I think I've been doing a really good job with it in practice.
While the majority of the roster returns, South Carolina did have a major loss after its championship-winning season in 2024’s WBCA National Defensive Player of the Year Kamilla Cardoso who is now with the WNBA’s Chicago Sky.
Replacing her production will be difficult, Staley said.
“I mean, you lose (a) 6-foot-7, National Defensive Player of the Year, shot blocker, rebounder, unselfish and somebody you have to pretty much double team,” Staley said. “All of our bigs are gonna be single covered… (It's a) big, big loss, but we’ve got several, our post group of players are pretty tight and they’ve improved over the last three, four weeks.”
The Gamecocks already played its first exhibition game of the season against the Memphis Tigers, bringing a 106-63 win back to Columbia as part of the inaugural St. Jude Tip Off Classic at FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee.
“I think our players were a little bit overstimulated to start the game,” Staley said. “But they calmed down a little bit to get back to the habits that this team has formed.”
The Gamecocks will officially open up its season with two games on neutral courts, with the first of those games coming against Michigan on Nov. 4 in Las Vegas. The Wolverines will be the Gamecocks' first of 14 opponents on its schedule that made the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
The Gamecocks then face No. 8 N.C. State in Charlotte, North Carolina, for its first of eight opponents that are currently ranked in the top ten in the AP's preseason poll.
“I am super excited about not just our team but overall," Staley said. "I'm excited to see how the teams that have been spread out over certain conferences, the Big Ten, the ACC, former Pac-12 members. I'd like to see how all that unfolds. I'm super excited.”
The Gamecocks will play its final exhibition game on Monday Oct. 28 at Colonial Life Arena against NCAA Division II program Clayton State at 7 p.m.