South Carolina women’s basketball fifth-year guard Te-Hina Paopao is set to get her name called in the WNBA Draft on Monday night after her second season with the Gamecocks.
Paopao spent three seasons with the Oregon Ducks before coming to Columbia, South Carolina.
Paopao decided to transfer from Oregon to South Carolina her senior year and made an immediate impact on the team upon her arrival. During her senior season, Paopao averaged 11 points, 3.7 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game as the starting guard for the Gamecocks.
She also shot 46.8% from beyond the arc, leading the NCAA in 3-point percentage for the season to become only the second in program history to lead the NCAA in a statistical category. Her performance helped lead the team to an undefeated season where South Carolina won its third women’s basketball title in the 2023-24 season.
During her time as a Gamecock, Paopao was a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award, earned All-SEC second team and was named to the Women’s USBWA All-America second team in 2023-24.
Strengths
Paopao excelled at scoring from beyond the arc. Last season, she became third all time in Gamecock women’s basketball history for 3-point field goals made in a season with 87. Her ability to make 3-pointers helps stretch defenses out and opens up passing lanes.
For the Gamecocks, Paopao was the lead facilitator, averaging 2.8 assists while committing 1.2 turnovers per game. She also recorded the fourth-best assist-to-turnover ratio in a season of SEC games in Gamecock women’s basketball history with a ratio of 2.70 in the 2023-24 season.
She also improved her defensive rating since becoming a Gamecock. Paopao had a defensive rating of 93.3 her sophomore year but has brought it down to 85.2. This improvement shows that she may be able to continue improving her defense in the WNBA.
Weaknesses
Although Paopao is a great shooter from beyond the arc, she relies on her outside shot. Of her 140 made shots this year, 60 (42%) of her made shots were 3-pointers.
This makes her a predictable player at times and makes her less of a threat on offense when her outside shot isn’t falling. An example of this was during the NCAA Championship game, where Paopao scored 3 points on 1-6 shooting from the field and 1-3 shooting from the 3-point line.
Another offensive flaw from the fifth-year guard is her lack of free throw shooting. At the end of this season, Paopao only shot 38 total free throws in 39 games.
Paopao enters the WNBA listed at 5 feet, 9 inches. The average height for a WNBA guard is 5 feet, 10 inches. This puts her below the average for her position, but there are significantly shorter guards, with Dallas Wings training camp guard Mai Yamamoto measuring at 5 feet, 4 inches.
Her size will make it hard to defend bigger guards, but she has shown defensive improvement this season, recording a season-high four blocks against No. 9 seed Indiana in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
WNBA fits and draft outlook
Paopao and senior forward Sania Feagan were invited to attend the WNBA as draftees. Paopao is projected to be a first-round pick in several mock drafts.
There are several teams that need guard help and could help improve a team’s ability to score from beyond the arc, such as the Chicago Sky, Washington Mystics, Los Angeles Sparks and the Connecticut Sun. The Sparks and the Sky ranked in the bottom half of the league in 3-point percentage.
USA Today has Paopao going No. 10 overall, a spot that would reunite her with her former teammate Kamilla Cardoso. The Sky recently traded for veteran guard Ariel Atkins and signed former New York Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot but still lack young talent at the guard position heading into this season. She would also help with passing, as the Sky were second to last in assists last season.
The Los Angeles Sparks drafting Paopao would send her back to her home state and project her as a backup guard to newly acquired Sparks guard Kelsey Plum. She would provide scoring for a team that struggled to score efficiently from the 3-point line. The Sparks had similar problems as the Sky and were third to last in assists last season.
What’s next?
The 2025 WNBA Draft will begin on Monday, April 14, at 7 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on ESPN. The WNBA Draft is set to be hosted in Manhattan, New York.