7 Christmas wishes for Dawn Staley and South Carolina women’s basketball
Dawn Staley and the No. 3 South Carolina women’s basketball team are in the middle of a holiday break.
The Gamecocks are 12-1 on the year and on a five-game win streak after going undefeated in its two-game Florida road trip last week.
South Carolina won’t play again until after Christmas, when the Gamecocks return to Colonial Life Arena against Providence this Sunday.
In the spirit of the holidays, here’s a hypothetical Christmas wish list for South Carolina women’s basketball as we reach the midway point of the 2025-26 season.
Keep everyone healthy
South Carolina has had little luck keeping a thin roster at full strength this year.
The Gamecocks have played 13 games this season, and they’ve entered eight of those games down at least one player.
Not all of those instances were due to injury, as Maddy McDaniel missed three early-season games due to suspension. Prior to that situation, though, McDaniel missed a game and a half with a leg injury.
Both Tessa Johnson and Madina Okot have missed time with bouts of sickness, and freshman guard Agot Makeer has missed the last five games while in concussion protocol.
Things seem to be trending in a positive direction. Okot played well in two games last week, and Makeer dressed out for the first time all month against Florida Gulf Coast last week.
The addition of French prospect Alicia Tournebize, who signed with USC Monday and will join the team after the holiday break, also adds much-needed depth and brings South Carolina’s roster to 11 healthy players. There’s now a little bit more wiggle room if someone gets hurt, though Staley probably wants to avoid that regardless.
Immediate impact from Tournebize
Prior to her signing, Tournebize committing to and/or enrolling early with South Carolina would’ve been at the top of this hypothetical Christmas list.
Now that she’s officially signed, the hope becomes her making an immediate impact.
The 18-year-old comes to Columbia after a stint with Tango Bourges Basket, a professional team of the EuroLeague Women in France. She averaged 2.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and just under one assist in 7.6 minutes across eight games this season.
Tournebize is 6-foot-7 and has a wide-ranging skill set, including the ability to dunk. Staley praised her basketball IQ, 3-point shooting and defense in a news release announcing her signing.
Tournebize is the kind of player who can make an immediate impact off South Carolina’s bench the rest of the way.
Even more from Joyce Edwards
Any worries of a sophomore slump for Joyce Edwards were out the window almost immediately after the start of the 2025-26 season.
The star sophomore is leading the way in scoring for the Gamecocks and averaging career-highs in points (22), rebounds (6.2), assists (2.8), steals (2.1) and blocks per game (1.6) while also touting a career best in field goal percentage (62.8%) .
Edwards recorded a new career high with 34 points against South Florida last week. She’s scored more than 20 points on eight different occasions this year and became the first Gamecock to score 25-plus points in four straight games since Shannon Johnson in 1995-96.
Despite the ridiculous stats, there’s still room to grow for Edwards. She has already proven she’s a high-level scorer, and Staley has said she wants Edwards to grow as a defender and rebounder.
Better bench production
The USC starting five has been exceptional this season, but it’s no secret that the Gamecocks could use some more help from the bench.
South Carolina has benefited from an extremely deep team in years past. Last year was the epitome of it, when the team led the country with an average of 40.3 bench points per game.
Replicating that in 2025-26 wasn’t really an option: Two of South Carolina’s top performers off the bench last year are in the starting lineup (Edwards and Tessa Johnson) and the other now plays for LSU (MiLaysia Fulwiley).
South Carolina ranks No. 242 in the country and averaging 17.5 bench points per game this season. The Gamecocks have just one bench player averaging more than five points a game (Makeer’s 5.9 points). Staley has been open in saying she needs her bench to continue to develop so she can get to a comfortable rotation of eight or nine players.
South Carolina will need its bench to grow in all areas, not just scoring, so there won’t be major drop-offs in production during SEC play when the starters take a breather.
A win over LSU in Baton Rouge
Coaches and players on both sides would probably tell you this game doesn’t mean more than any other game, publicly at least. But let’s be real here: This matchup is huge.
Let’s start with the obvious: The Valentine’s Day matchup between South Carolina and LSU in Baton Rouge, televised nationally and in prime time, could have big implications for seeding in the SEC and NCAA tournaments. Both teams are favorites to win the SEC (along with Texas), and depending on how the season shakes out, this game could help decide a regular-season title.
The two teams have developed a rivalry in the last five years, though South Carolina hasn’t lost to LSU since 2012 and is riding a 17-game win streak over the Tigers.
Now to the interesting wrinkle: MiLaysia Fulwiley playing her former team.
The Columbia native was a star off the bench in her two years as a Gamecock, and Staley called her a generational talent. She won a national title with USC in 2024 and a season ago was the SEC 6th Player of the Year for South Carolina.
Fulwiley transferred to LSU, where she is averaging 20.9 minutes off the bench and is scoring 15.9 points per game.
Fulwiley has superstar playmaking capabilities, making the matchup against her former team must-see TV. A win for South Carolina would be massive on several fronts.
Adding a few more trophies to the collection
The Gamecocks probably want a fourth national title a bit more than a 10th SEC championship, but it’s safe to assume they’re gunning for both.
Another NCAA Tournament championship win would further cement South Carolina’s program as a dynasty. A fourth national title would move the Gamecocks into third all-time for championship wins behind UConn’s 12 titles and Tennessee’s eight.
It would also give Staley the third-most titles of any women’s basketball coach, tied with LSU’s Kim Mulkey.
Bringing back key players in 2026-27
It’s never too early to take a look at what South Carolina could look like next season.
The Gamecocks will lose at least three seniors off this current roster who have exhausted all of their eligibility in Raven Johnson, Ta’Niya Latson and Maryam Dauda. Two more seniors — Chloe Kitts and Madina Okot — could move on.
Kitts could return next year if she wanted to get a medical redshirt after missing this entire season after an ACL injury. Okot could return as well, but South Carolina would need to apply for and be granted a waiver to get her an extra year of eligibility. Okot played her first two years of college ball in her native Kenya before coming to the United States last season and playing for Mississippi State.
South Carolina could also return forward Ashlyn Watkins next year. The former All-SEC player is taking this year off from basketball and would have been a senior this season had she played.
Here’s what a potential roster could look like in 2026-27 if South Carolina is able to return every player possible:
- Guards: Maddy McDaniel, Agot Makeer, Ayla McDaniel, Tessa Johnson and Jerzy Robinson
- Forwards: Joyce Edwards, Madina Okot, Chloe Kitts, Adhel Tac, Alicia Tournebize, Kaeli Wynn, Kelsi Andrews and Ashlyn Watkins.
In the transfer portal era, there’s so much that could happen between now and next season. Plus there’s only 15 roster spots to go around and Staley likely won’t ever carry more than 13 players. Still, South Carolina could be chock-full of veterans next year.
This story was originally published December 25, 2025 at 7:41 AM.
