Dawn Staley gives latest on USC women’s basketball injuries
South Carolina women’s basketball is hitting the road for a two-game swing in Florida this week. Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks play at South Florida on Thursday, then at Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday.
It appears things are trending up injury-wise to where Staley will have her full team available to play on Thursday, marking the first time since Thanksgiving that’s happened. All 10 healthy Gamecocks’ players were seen Wednesday during the brief period of post-practice work the media is permitted to watch.
Both forward Madina Okot and guard Agot Makeer missed South Carolina’s last game against Penn State on Sunday. After the game, Staley said both players were “day to day” and that South Carolina is being “super conservative” about putting them back in the lineup.
“Yeah, they practiced today, so that’s good,” Staley said when asked if Okot and Makeer would be good to go for the trip Wednesday. “...Still, you got to see how they do tomorrow. How they wake up tomorrow.”
South Carolina women’s basketball injuries, illnesses
Okot missed her first game of the season against Penn State. She exited the game against N.C. Central a week earlier after the first half. At the time, Staley said Okot was feeling “a little sick.”
The 6-foot-5 forward is averaging a double-double this season. Okot is scoring 14.8 points a game and leads the SEC with 11.1 rebounds per contest.
Makeer missed the Louisville and N.C. Central games while in concussion protocol. She’s averaging 5.9 points per game in 16.5 minutes played.
South Carolina, which already has a thin roster with just 10 players available, has had players miss time sporadically this season. Maddy McDaniel and Tessa Johnson have missed time alongside Okot and Makeer.
McDaniel left the first game of the year early with an injury and then missed the following game. The sophomore point guard then missed the next three games due to suspension. Johnson missed the N.C. Central game with an illness.
This story was originally published December 17, 2025 at 12:56 PM.
