As students departed from campus for the winter break, the South Carolina women’s basketball team stayed behind to compete in games, such as the top-10 matchup against TCU and the start to SEC conference play. The Gamecocks are now in the beginning of a five-game ranked opponent stretch.
Here's what you missed over winter break.
Wrapping up 2024
Following an 81-70 win over the No. 8 Duke Blue Devils on Dec. 2 in the ACC/SEC challenge, the Gamecocks faced another top 10 opponent in No. 9 TCU.
The game remained close through the first quarter of play, with South Carolina maintaining a slight edge over the Horned Frogs 20-14.
Over the next two quarters, the Gamecocks outscored TCU 44-18 to take a 64-32 lead entering the fourth quarter. These two dominant quarters were the difference maker as South Carolina cruised to an 85-52 win over the Horned Frogs.
Head coach Dawn Staley spoke about what she has seen from her team following the loss early this year at then No. 4 UCLA.
"We're defending like our normal selves. We are very patient, offensively. I mean we know what really works for us offensively," Staley said.
Sophomore guard MiLaysia Fulwiley finished the game with a team-high of 20 points, followed by fifth-year guard Te-Hina Paopao and junior guard Raven Johnson scoring 11 points apiece.
A notable play from the game occurred in the first quarter, when junior forward Ashlyn Watkins stole the ball from TCU and took it down the court to throw down her third career dunk.
South Carolina closed out the remainder of its non-conference games with three home victories over South Florida, Charleston Southern and Wofford.
One player who shined over these three games was freshman forward Joyce Edwards who averaged 17 points, which featured a 20-point outing against Charleston Southern.
After leading the team in scoring over the team in scoring over the three-game stretch, Edwards said that she is getting better by just playing in more games and gaining valuable experience.
"The more you play, the more experience you get, the better off you're going to be," Edwards said.
Starting the new year strong
The Gamecocks began the quest for a fourth straight SEC regular season championship on Jan. 2 by beating the Missouri Tigers on the road 83-52.
South Carolina dominated the game in the interior, scoring 40 points in the paint, out-rebounding the Tigers 48-27 and blocking six shots, including two by Fulwiley who also had two steals. Fulwiley did not only shine on the defense end of the court but also posted a team-high 17 points.
Just three days later, the Gamecocks were back in action in another road game against Mississippi State.
Against the Bulldogs, South Carolina shot 47% from three, the team's third highest shooting percentage of the season, en route to a 95-68 win. The team trailed at the end of the 1st quarter, but it was big plays from sophomore guard Tessa Johnson that helped the Gamecocks in its second quarter comeback.
"Tessa was ready, locked, loaded and ready to shoot the ball when she was open," Staley said. "I think her focus goes to another level when we're down, and she seemed to hit big shots when we're down."
Tessa Johnson shot 4-6 from behind the arc on her way to set a new career-high in points with 22 points. Paopao also had success shooting the 3-pointer as she hit three triples and finished with 15 points.
South Carolina hosted Texas A&M on Jan. 8 in its first home SEC contest and went on to win 90-49 in the team's 50th straight SEC win.
The Gamecocks were able to jump out to an early 25-10 lead after the 1st quarter. The team did not take its foot off of the gas, out scoring the Aggies 26-10 in the third quarter.
Edwards and Fulwiley both shone again, leading the team in scoring. Edwards had 19 points and 10 rebounds, the second double double of her career. Fulwiley ended the game with 17 points including a wrap around behind the back and-1.
Gamecocks shining despite injuries
During South Carolina’s win over Mississippi State, Watkins suffered a torn ACL. At the time of her injury, Watkins was averaging 7.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.
Freshman guard Maddy McDaniel also suffered a concussion and missed the games against both Wofford and Missouri.
Despite the injuries, South Carolina has been able to keep its current win streak alive at 10 games, with key players stepping up to make an impact.
Edwards has been the leading scorer for the Gamecocks up to this point in the season with 11.3 points per game, and in the first game without Watkins against Texas A&M, she scored 19 points. But Edwards said she does not feel the pressure of having to step up for Watkins.
"I feel like everybody's stepping up, and you don't try to fill in her position, you just do what you do," Edwards said. "And at the end of the day everybody will elevate their game, so I don't think the pressure is necessarily on me, but we know as a team that we all have to step up."
Another player who has shone over the last few games has been Tessa Johnson, who has averaged 12.2 points over the last five games.
Paopao was also named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25. The Wooden award is given out to the top player in the country each season. Currently Paopao is averaging 11.1 points and shooting just over 40% from three.
After defeating No. 5 Texas on Sunday afternoon, the Gamecocks are now set to play four consecutive games against ranked opponents in the SEC.
Raven Johnson said that this stretch of games will help prepare the team for later games in the SEC and National tournament.
"It's good for women's basketball, but I think it's good for us because it prepares (us) for not only the SEC tournament, but it prepares (us) for March Madness because in March Madness (we're) going to have top match ups," Raven Johnson said.