Dawn Staley provides injury update on South Carolina guard Maddy McDaniel
Dawn Staley shared a brief update on the injury status of sophomore Maddy McDaniel on Thursday.
Staley said McDaniel did not practice Thursday but was “up and moving around” and is doubtful for South Carolina’s game against Bowling Green on Friday.
McDaniel left South Carolina’s season opener against Grand Canyon in the third quarter after colliding with another player. After the game, Staley it looked like McDaniel’s knee bumped into a GCU player’s knee. McDaniel went down hard and had to be helped off the court. She went straight to the locker room.
McDaniel looked fine in the small portion of post-practice that local media was allowed to view before Staley’s weekly media availability. She was shooting foul shots and did not have a knee brace on.
“Maddy is pretty tough,” Staley said Monday, opting not to provide other details. “Maddy heals up pretty quickly, so I’m not too worried.”
McDaniel’s absence shouldn’t affect South Carolina too much in its matchup against Bowling Green on Friday, but it will make things interesting.
It will leave South Carolina with just nine available players in the game but — given the talent gap between the two teams — the Gamecocks should be able to adjust.
South Carolina will likely rely extra on its trio of starting guards — Raven Johnson, Ta’Niya Latson and Tessa Johnson — against Bowling Green. The three combined for 50 points against Grand Canyon.
McDaniel’s injury also means true freshmen Ayla McDowell and Agot Makeer will play a bigger role against Bowling Green. The two young players are the lone guards on the bench. McDowell and Makeer played 17 and 19 minutes in their official debut against Grand Canyon, respectively.
“Little bit everybody,” Staley said of who needs to step up. “A little bit of Tessa, a little bit of Agot, a little bit of Ta’Niya, probably. Just a lot of our guards being on the floor, they all have taken their turns at playing the point.”
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Dawn Staley provides injury update on South Carolina guard Maddy McDaniel."
