More may be asked of Staley’s starters

Whether it was classified as giving everyone a chance or disguised as putting in someone else when the first ones weren’t producing, Dawn Staley has never been accused of not giving a player a chance. You sign, you’ll play. That’s the deal.

So when her usual starting five took the floor for the second half at Texas A&M last game, it wasn’t unusual. What was unusual was those five – outside of Tina Roy subbing for the injured Asia Dozier – played every minute of the second half.

Bianca Cuevas and Sarah Imovbioh have been vital subs this season, with Jatarie White and Doniyah Cliney continuing to flourish. None of them moved from their chairs as the Gamecocks pieced together a strong final 20 minutes to pull out the win.

Even in her eighth season and with just eight losses over the past three, Staley wasn’t afraid to try something new.

“I just thought our starters had a great chemistry going,” Staley said on Wednesday. “It’s not something I like to do, and it’s something I don’t think we’ve done. I looked at the total minutes, and it’s not something we’ve done over the years. It was just that particular game.”

Could it happen again? Especially with No. 2 South Carolina (21-0, 9-0) hosting nemesis Kentucky on Thursday? The Gamecocks’ bench is thin as it is, since Dozier won’t be able to play due to the hand injury she suffered at A&M. Knowing that and also knowing the Wildcats will run until their feet fall off, a fresh set of legs and constant rotation could come in handy.

Depends, Staley said. Bench comes in and proves there won’t be much of a dropoff, sure, they can stay in.

If not, all that running new strength coach Katie Fowler installed in the offseason is going to come in handy for the starters.

“So moving forward, we do need great production from our bench,” Staley said. “We need them to grow up and play possession basketball, because that’s what it is. It’s a possession-by-possession type of game. We just need to get better with that with people coming off the bench.”

Nobody can blame the results. USC’s most talented players were on the floor and won the game. There aren’t a lot of teams in America – although one is certainly coming to town Monday – that can handle a starting five like USC’s. Stop Tiffany Mitchell, A’ja Wilson and Alaina Coates take over. Shut down those two, Khadijah Sessions and Roy will perimeter-shoot an opponent to the mat.

“Coach is always going to rely on an older group, her seniors, to get her through,” Sessions said. “It comes with being experienced in those situations. We’ve been in those situations a lot, and she puts her trust in us to lead this team to victory.”

USC-Kentucky games have become viewing sometimes not suitable for children over the years, the two teams channeling a genuine dislike for each other. Each plays fast, each plays physical, each has a coach whose first motto is, “I hate losing.”

Kentucky is reeling, having lost three of four and perhaps still feeling the effects of a 73-62 home loss to the Gamecocks on Jan. 14. The Wildcats were well ahead in that game until the fourth, when A’ja Wilson posted what UK guard Makayla Epps called, “NBA numbers.”

The Wildcats need to win to keep themselves in the hunt for a home seed for the NCAA tournament, which would perhaps lead to a NCAA Regional berth also in Lexington. The Gamecocks are considered the favorite to land the No. 1 spot in that regional – what better way to get an early TV idea if the two are each assigned to the spot?

Staley is shrugging off such talk, as she has certain games against No. 1 opponents on the horizon. Her team played well at A&M, although it was mostly the starters with a message sent to the bench.

“They’re in a good place,” Staley said. “This is a team that just stays in the moment. They don’t look in the past, they don’t look past our current opponent. It is a rough stretch in our season, but this is what we’ve come to know in the SEC.”

This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 4:39 PM.