‘Play of the game’: How Madina Okot’s unlikely 3-pointer sparked USC late vs. Texas
Madina Okot hasn’t been much of a 3-point shooter in her career. On Thursday night, she found her inner-Steph Curry in when it mattered most.
With time winding down in the fourth quarter, No. 2 South Carolina found itself leading No. 4 Texas 58-57. Raven Johnson dribbled right then passed the ball back left to Okot.
Okot was just beyond the 3-point line when she caught the pass. She hesitated for a second, expecting Texas’ defense to be right in her face.
There wasn’t a Longhorn within at least 10 feet.
So she let the ball fly, and Colonial Life Arena erupted when it sunk through the hoop and touched nothing but net.
Okot’s 3-pointer at the 3:32 mark of the fourth quarter completely switched up the momentum in the game. The basket gave South Carolina its biggest lead at that point (four points), and Texas was never able to overcome it. South Carolina won the game 68-65.
“It’s a one-possession game and the play of the game is Okot’s 3,” Texas head coach Vic Schaefer said.
Prior to this season, Okot had never attempted a 3-pointer in her career. This year she’s attempted seven from long range and made three of them. The previous two makes came in blowout wins over Florida Gulf Coast and Arkansas.
So what emboldened her to take such an unfamiliar shot in such a big moment? Practice.
“I’ve been practicing for it,” Okot said. “...(In) today’s game I was like, ‘Wait, I’m wide open let me try it.’ And it went in.”
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley credited the work Okot has put in behind the scenes to improve her 3-point shooting.
“We work them,” Staley said. “Our bigs are very capable of making 3s, and we’re comfortable with them taking the 3s because we work them. She couldn’t hit it at a more important time for her and for us.”
Okot is averaging a double-double in her first season with the Gamecocks. She’s scoring 14.8 points and bringing in 10.9 rebounds a game.
Despite Okot’s dominance on the court — her coach went as far to describe her as a “female Adonis” Thursday night — Staley said Okot has had times where she’s “going through it mentally” this season. And Staley hopes Okot’s play against Texas helps her push through.
“She’s got to take something from this game that she got to feel good about. She’s working through some things. Sometimes when players are working through some things, you’ve just got to get to the other side. The more you wallow in it, the worse it gets. But the more you just think about just getting through; it may be ugly, it may make you feel bad, but they’re all just growing pains.”
Okot is still adjusting to playing at South Carolina and playing basketball in the United States in general. Her lone year of NCAA experience came last year with Mississippi State, where the stakes arguably weren’t as high (the Bulldogs were 22-12 last year and made the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in the last five years) as they are in Columbia.
Still, Okot is working through it in an effort to be the latest in the long line of dominant post players to come out of South Carolina, Johnson said.
“This is unfamiliar territory for her regarding big stakes, big game, everybody’s watching. So it takes some time to get used to,” Staley said. “… So I hope she can see we were still winning with her not even being at her best. So once she’s at her best maybe the score wouldn’t be as tight as it was.”
This story was originally published January 16, 2026 at 7:00 AM.
