Staley: South Carolina played with ‘heart of a champion’ in win over Oklahoma
South Carolina put arguably its most complete product on the floor against Oklahoma on Sunday night.
The No. 2 Gamecocks cruised to a 101-60 win over the No. 12 Sooners in a game marked by efficient shooting and dominant defense.
After the game, coach Dawn Staley likened South Carolina’s performance to top-tier basketball.
“Our kids gave it up, like our kids played hard,” Staley said. “Like every possession, they played hard. They played the way we envisioned. A lot of coaches have a vision of how they want their teams to play. That was it. Yes, we gave up 60 points. Yes, we turned the ball over. Yes, (Oklahoma’s Raehan Beers) scores 23 points. But everything in between was like really the heart of a champion on both sides of the basketball.”
South Carolina’s offense passed the century mark on the scoreboard for the first time this season. The Gamecocks have come close to scoring 100 points several times this season, notching between 90 and 99 points six times. The 101 points against the Sooners is the most South Carolina has scored since beating Kentucky 103-55 last year. The 41-point win marks the 12th straight double-digit victory for South Carolina this season, setting a program record.
South Carolina shared the wealth on offense against Oklahoma. All but two Gamecocks who touched the floor Sunday night scored; five players scored in double digits. Joyce Edwards led USC with 17 points, followed by MiLaysia Fulwiley (15), Tessa Johnson (13) Sania Feagin (12) and Te-Hina Paopao (11).
Feagin said one Gamecocks offensive success often leads to others during games like Sunday’s.
“When one gets hot and then they just assist the other, it just gets everybody involved,” Feagin said. “Then we all feel good.”
Redshirt freshman Adhel Tac even got in on the action, making the basket that pushed South Carolina to 100 points. Tac made a mid-range jumper despite being fouled, much to the pleasure of the fans in Colonial Life Arena, then converted the and-one after hitting a free throw.
“I think it’s a great moment for Adhel because she’s had to sit,” Staley said. “She’s had to be on the highlighter team for most of the Christmas break. Sometimes when the player doesn’t get as much playing time as the work they’re putting in, it could be deflating. It can lead to them being not as confident. But Adhel is different … just a happy moment for her and her fans.”
Staley said the Gamecocks wanted to play fast against Oklahoma and succeeded in having a “fluid” offense.
South Carolina shot 48.1% from the field and was 35.7% from 3-point range. The Gamecocks made 10 threes, one shy of tying their season high. South Carolina also tallied a season-high 26 assists.
“I’m very confident with the entire roster,” Staley said. “They have a way of playing well together. They prep extremely well. They are finding their footing. They want each other to play well and it speaks to the 26 assists on 39 field goals. It speaks to that. It speaks to Chloe (Kitts) giving the ball up to Raven (Johnson), Raven throwing an alley-oop to (MiLaysia Fulwiley). It speaks to that. It’s (Fulwiley) turning the ball over trying to get Adhel involved in the fourth quarter. It speaks to all of those things. We’re just playing well.”
The total team effort on offense speaks to the depth of Staley’s roster. At the same time, she said it means South Carolina sacrifices having someone who is considered a leading candidate for national or conference individual awards. However, Staley would rather have everyone find success on offense and win than one person find success on offense and lose.
“This team is really locked into the ultimate goal of just winning and doing it for each other,” Staley said. “… We give (All-Americans) up, but for the greater good of winning and doing things that we need to do to get better as a team, and doing things that promote great basketball. We want to be a great product of our game, so we can bring more eyes, eyeballs into it.
“Is it cool to have an All-American? A go-to player? Absolutely. But when you can do it without having one, you’re really moving the needle.”
South Carolina schedule: Next four games
- Thursday: vs. LSU, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
- Monday: at Tennessee, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
- Feb. 2: vs. Auburn, 12 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 6: at Georgia, 6 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
This story was originally published January 20, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
