A'ja Wilson's last home game is here — and it will feature a tall challenge

A'ja Wilson is running out of lasts, but even still, this particular last is something special.

In a senior season full of final moments and lots of celebration, South Carolina's biggest women's basketball star will play her last game ever at Colonial Life Arena on Sunday, as the Gamecocks host Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Over the four years, USC has compiled a 58-4 record at its home arena. But on Friday night, the All-American was less focused on her legacy than she was on critiquing her team's struggle to defeat 15th-seeded North Carolina A&T.

And on Saturday, she once again emphasized that any sentimentality for Sunday's game against Virginia would be shelved until the Gamecocks are safely into the Sweet 16.

"I'm always ready and excited for all of my games, but this one is, of course, special. This is my last time playing at Colonial Life Arena, so I'm not going to make it a huge deal, but at the same time, I know my main focus and my main goal is to get the win for my team," Wilson said. "We're going to rally together once again and, hopefully, send me out with a bang."

Although Wilson downplayed the significance of the game, her coaches and teammates recognize her impact and have that extra motivation to send her off from Columbia with a win.

"She means a lot to this team and to me as well," redshirt junior guard Doniyah Cliney said. "She's grown from her freshman to her senior year, and I feel like she's the big sister that I've always wanted. Obviously, I've learned a lot of things just being around her, on and off the floor. She's gonna leave a great blueprint behind her. It's gonna be kind of weird playing in this game Sunday, but I'm happy for her."

But while Sunday will mark an ending of sorts for Wilson, it will also present a challenge she has rarely had to face in her college career: an opponent who is taller and longer than she is. Virginia sophomore Felicia Aiyeotan stands 6-foot-9 with a wingspan of 7-foot-3. That's even taller than Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan, the biggest player USC has faced to date this season.

"It's good to have played against an imposing presence like (McCowan)," Staley said. "We'll play her pretty much the same way we play (McCowan), and, hopefully, that will work. They've got some great pieces around her that make them go. Their guard play is pretty good, they're pretty aggressive and can knock down shots."

Of course, height isn't everything. Aiyeotan is still developing as a polished player and averages 7.6 points and 7 rebounds per game this season, significantly behind Wilson's stats, and that gives South Carolina added confidence.

"The post player, she's tall, she's super tall, but me personally, I think we got the best posts in the country," sophomore guard Tyasha Harris said. "There's nobody like (Alexis Jennings), A'ja, (Mikiah Herbert Harrigan) and LaDazhia (Williams). I think the firepower that they have is going to outdo hers."

Staley meets her alma mater

Sunday will also mark a personal milestone for Staley, who will face Virginia, her alma mater, for the first time as South Carolina's coach. She did face the Cavaliers while helming Temple.

Like Wilson, however, she brushed aside any questions about getting sentimental facing the team that she guided to three Final Fours.

"I don't have any Virginia stuff," Staley said when asked if she's putting away any Wahoo gear this weekend. "I'm over 25 years removed from it, and since (coach Debbie Ryan) left I don't really have a close relationship with the people at Virginia, because most of them aren't there anymore. I do have a couple of close friends that are still there that work for the university.

"It's another game. It's another game which I want to win, and win badly, not because it's Virginia, but because it's another opportunity to move on in the NCAA Tournament."

Staley's focus on the future and lack of nostalgia is so intense that Wilson said Saturday she "completely forgot" that her coach even went to Virginia.

'Happy to be alive'

While Staley, Wilson and the rest of USC's squad pronounced their performance Friday to be "disappointing," "unacceptable" and a range of other negative adjectives, their perspective changed overnight.

In particular, Staley pointed to other upsets across college basketball, including Virginia's men's team losing to No. 16 seed UMBC late Friday, as evidence that although the Gamecocks played poorly, they are glad they're still in the tournament at all.

"Seeing what happened to some men and some women in the NCAA Tournament, I'm happy. I'm happy to be alive," Staley said. "I just didn't have enough time to decompress from the game and how we played, but you gotta put a different perspective on it when you're prepping for another team and seeing who won't be participating anymore in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. So that's a mood-changer right there."

South Carolina and Virginia tip off Sunday at 9 p.m. on ESPN.

This story was originally published March 17, 2018 at 5:54 PM with the headline "A'ja Wilson's last home game is here — and it will feature a tall challenge."