La victoire! South Carolina WBB shines in historic win over Notre Dame in Paris
In the City of Lights, no star burned brighter than MiLaysia Fulwiley’s.
As if making her collegiate debut in Paris for the first NCAA basketball game on European soil wasn’t memorable enough, the five-star South Carolina women’s basketball freshman scored 17 points, had a team-high six steals and went viral Monday for an up-and-under layup in the first half, earning shout-outs from some of the greatest stars to ever pick up a basketball.
“It’s not as easy as it looks on TV, but I wasn’t surprised at all,” Fulwiley said after the game of her flashy plays. “I’ve been practicing hard for this moment.”
Fulwiley was one of many bright spots as the No. 6 Gamecocks defeated No. 10 Notre Dame 100-71 at Halle Georges Carpentier Arena in Paris behind stellar guard play and athleticism in the post.
The Gamecocks started senior transfer guard Te-Hina Paopao, sophomore guard Raven Johnson, junior guard Bree Hall, senior center Kamilla Cardoso and sophomore forward Chloe Kitts — very similiar to their Rutgers exhibition lineup, but with Kitts in place of Sania Feagin.
All 11 USC players on the current roster played Monday, with JUCO transfer Sakima Walker last to enter early in the fourth quarter.
South Carolina’s next game will be at home in Colonial Life Arena versus the No. 14 Maryland Terrapins at 1 p.m. Sunday. USC will retire all-time South Carolina great Tiffany Mitchell’s jersey before tipoff.
MiLaysia Fulwiley’s unforgettable debut
Coach Dawn Staley said so. Fulwiley is a generational talent. And on Monday, she showed the world that much.
Her presence on the court raised the energy level of the four other Gamecocks there with her at all times. She had seven points in the first half, including an up-and-under layup that made Halle Georges Carpentier Arena shake with excitement. South Carolina fans danced, shouted and waved towels in jubilation before picking their jaws up off the floor.
“I don’t have the gall,” Staley said. “I’ve never had the gall to do multiple moves. I was a straight behind-the-back pass. To add two and three and four moves to an action was pretty impressive. And to allow the receiver to know it’s coming, and then make her job easy. She’s pretty special. I said she’s a generational talent, and that’s what I meant.”
Hall of Fame point guard Magic Johnson took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to give her props.
“I’m watching the women’s basketball game between South Carolina and Notre Dame right now and I just saw the best move in all of basketball including the pros like LeBron, Steph, KD, Victor, and Jokic,” Johnson said in a post. “Everyone must see the coast-to-coast, behind-the-back move by freshman guard MiLaysia Fulwiley from South Carolina. WOW!!”
And so did Kevin Durant.
Notre Dame freshman Hannah “Hidalgo and Fulwiley moving DIFFERENT out here, turn on ESPN,” he said in a post.
In the third quarter, Fulwiley threaded the ball through multiple Irish defenders to Paopao for a layup, prompting Staley to throw her hands up and walk to back the bench. Just like in the exhibition game versus Rutgers, Fulwiley had 3s, fast-break points and painstakingly precise passes that looked anything but painful.
Guards gone wild
Staley said this South Carolina squad is more guard-heavy than those in recent memory. The group showed out against Notre Dame.
In addition to Fulwiley, Paopao lived up to her “General” nickname by making a huge impact. She scored 14 points (seven in the first quarter), dished out six assists, snagged three rebounds and had three steals in her USC debut. On consecutive possessions in the first quarter, Paopao recorded a steal and laid the ball in, then sank a jumper and later slung the ball to Feagin for another layup.
Johnson tossed a timely pass to freshman Sahnya Jah for a buzzer-beating layup to end the third quarter. USC’s starting point guard ended the night with 11 points, seven assists (tied for a career high) and a steal.
Hall, one of South Carolina’s veterans, had seven points and three rebounds. She also threw a clutch pass to Kitts in the second quarter, where Hall hooked the ball around an Irish defender at the baseline. Kitts put the ball up and got the foul.
Kamilla Cardoso rebounded, rebounded and rebounded
Cardoso struggled to score early, but found her flow to start the second half. In the first two quarters Cardoso had five points on 2-of-6 shooting and 10 rebounds. She ended the game with a double double on 20 points and 15 rebounds (both career highs), plus four blocks.
Notre Dame double-teamed a lot of South Carolina’s post players, giving Ashlyn Watkins and Kitts some trouble in the paint. But both still found ways to be dynamic. Watkins recorded four blocks, while Kitts had two.
Next four South Carolina WBB games
Nov. 12: vs. No. 14 Maryland, 1 p.m. (ABC)
Nov. 16: vs. Clemson, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Nov. 20: vs. South Dakota State, 7 p.m. (SEC Network+)
Nov. 24: vs. Mississippi Valley State, 1 p.m. (SEC Network+)
This story was originally published November 6, 2023 at 3:06 PM.
