NCAA performance lifts Te-Hina Paopao to exclusive club: Gamecocks’ ‘seat belt gang’
The South Carolina women’s basketball team added a new member to its “seat belt gang.”
Senior guard Te-Hina Paopao joined the exclusive club after her dominating performance on defense Sunday in the Gamecocks’ 64-53 win over Indiana in the second round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament.
With the win, the Gamecocks advance to their 11th-straight Sweet 16 and will play their next game Friday in Birmingham, Alabama.
Paopao, who’s been known for her outside shooting since transferring to USC from Oregon two years ago, made her defensive presence known against the Hoosiers. She recorded a career-high four blocks and also helped stop Indiana guard Shay Ciezki, especially in the second half.
Ciezki finished with 12 points but only scored five in the second half (all in the fourth quarter). Paopao especially took pride in the blocked shots against Indiana.
The four blocks were two more than her previous career-high set in a game against Washington in 2021 when she was a freshman at Oregon. Paopao had 35 blocks in 148 career games going into Sunday’s contest.
“Yeah, y’all see that? I’m really proud of myself,” Paopao said of the four blocks. “I had more blocks than 3s (she had one) today, but that’s OK. I thought today was more of a defensive mindset for myself. The scouting report was she’s a really good player, so I didn’t want to let my team down. I’m part of the seat belt gang now, so I’m really proud of that as well. I just have to carry that defensive mindset throughout the tournament.”
Paopao’s performance earned her a membership in the Gamecocks’ seat belt gang, which until Sunday was made up of Bree Hall and Raven Johnson. The two seniors are known for their defensive prowess and guarding the team’s top offensive players. Johnson was a first-team All-SEC selection for defense this year.
Johnson said the team picked up the seat belt gang moniker from former Gamecock football defensive backs Jaycee Horn and Israel Mukuamu, who are both playing in the NFL. Horn, who just signed a four-year $100 million extension with the Carolina Panthers, started the seat-belt saying in 2020 when they were with the Gamecocks.
“A lot of guys were saying ‘strap’ at the time. So I had just started saying ‘seat belt’. Like (when you) seat belt, you strap. We both were thinking about a gesture to do. And we came up with the across the chest,” Horn told The Athletic in 2024. “We were going to do it whoever got the first stop of the game. We did it in practice all week. When we did it in practice, it was just a funny thing. And then when I got a stop in the game, I just did it in the game. And it took off from there.”
Dallas Wings guard Dijonai Carrington also does the seat belt gang arm motion during games.
Paopao was close to being a part of the Gamecocks’ seat belt gang before the second-round game, Johnson and Hall both said, but her performance Sunday solidified it.
“She really earned her spot today,” said Hall, who had a team-high 11 points.
Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley also praised Paopao’s effort on the defensive end and how she’s has developed into more of a complete player. She pointed out that opposing teams try to wear her down on defense.
Paopao credited her staying in shape with helping her in second halves of game like against the Hoosiers. She still showed her ability for delivering in clutch moments when she drilled a 3-pointer as the shot clock was winding down to put the Gamecocks up 57-45 with 4:44 left.
“I thought she did a great job. We told her that in the locker room,” Staley said. “I’m happy that we’re helping to complete Pao, because for the longest time her reputation is that she can just flat-out shoot the ball. She’s a consummate point guard, and I don’t think her defense gets enough credit in the past two years that she’s been with us because it’s gotten better and better and better, and then she had performances like she did today.”
This story was originally published March 23, 2025 at 8:20 PM.
