South Carolina makes emphatic statement about its identity in return to national championship

New York Times

05-04-2025

TAMPA, Fla. — MiLaysia Fulwiley had trouble sleeping in the lead-up to South Carolina's national semifinal meeting with Texas. The weight of the moment felt heavy. Fulwiley, the Gamecocks' uber-athletic sophomore guard, craved victory. She was fixated on propelling the top-seeded Gamecocks back to the national championship for the second consecutive year.
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A text from teammate Bree Hall on Thursday night helped quell some of Fulwiley's nerves. Hall, one of South Carolina's senior leaders, wrote to Fulwiley that she believed in the sophomore guard, that she had Fulwiley's back. Hall told her: 'Go out there and play as hard as you can, and we're gonna get it done.'
The message sounds simple, but there's no need to overcomplicate things in the Final Four. Fulwiley felt calm Friday night against the Longhorns. After South Carolina topped the Longhorns 74-57, she can now rest easy.
'I'm gonna finally be able to sleep,' Fulwiley said.
With the win, the Gamecocks are back on the precipice of history. A victory over UConn on Sunday would make the Gamecocks the first repeat champions since the Huskies in 2016. It would make South Carolina a champion for the third time in four years. It would move coach Dawn Staley into a tie for third for most titles ever for a coach, and further cement Staley's Gamecocks as the preeminent program in the sport.
Vibes ➡️ HIGH pic.twitter.com/kYqWkadl8F
— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) April 5, 2025
But before any more history comes to fruition, Staley had to first figure out how to beat Texas for the third time in four meetings this season. To do so, she cycled through her roster — nine players got at least 15 minutes — finding Gamecock after Gamecock playing with freedom.
South Carolina eked out victories in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, but it looked more like themselves while beating Texas. The Gamecocks played like a dominant power in the sport, with a well-coached roster composed of five-star talent.
There was balance and ball movement. South Carolina had 17 assists on 29 field goals. There were spirited bench celebrations and joyous hugs, especially after Fulwiley dribbled out the final seconds of the victory.
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South Carolina had contributions from its young players — freshman Joyce Edwards led the way with 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Its upperclassmen were reliable, too. Senior guard Te-Hina Paopao scored a game-high 14 points. Hall contributed 11 rebounds in 24 minutes.
'I felt like there was a lot of pressure on us to get back to where we are, and I just told my team that we gotta relax, believe and remind people who we are,' Hall said.
South Carolina's victory was less a subtle reminder of the identity they've forged in winning two of the last three championships and more of an emphatic statement.
One victory doesn't fully scrub memories of their struggles at the Birmingham Regional, but it does put the Gamecocks 40 minutes away from making difficult victories just blips on a path to a historic title.
Though the end result was convincing, the Gamecocks' opening three minutes left much to be desired. They trailed 10-2 with Texas star Madison Booker sinking both of her opening shots.
But South Carolina didn't rattle. Players trusted each other, and Staley trusted them.
'Coach don't call a timeout, that means we're good,' senior center Sania Feagin said.
It's not surprising Staley let her experienced group figure itself out. A year ago against Iowa in the national championship, the Gamecocks trailed 10-0 at the start. South Carolina won anyway.
'As a coach, you're just evaluating what's happening out there,' Staley said. 'Are we getting good looks? Are we defending at a really high clip and they're making good shots?'
She felt they were. She knew that if South Carolina could be patient, its depth would carry it to victory.
Staley had other premonitions as well. The day before the Final Four, she said: 'We've had a bigger offensive spurt throughout those games (with a) higher stake, and I do think it's going to take that.' Sure enough, South Carolina blitzed Texas coming out of the halftime locker room. A three-point lead ballooned to 14 heading into the game's final quarter.
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Another prophetic prediction?
Staley said in the lead-up to the national semifinal: 'We need to stay more organized in broken plays, because they do a really good job of making you go a little bit deeper into your offense.'
Explaining how the Gamecocks pulled away, Raven Johnson said: 'Executing through broken plays.' She also praised the shot-making and disruptive defense from South Carolina's bigs.
Her backcourt partner, Paopao, was similarly effusive discussing Edwards, Feigan and junior Chloe Kitts. But the 5-foot-9 senior never wavered in her confidence of anyone on her roster. In the lead-up to Friday's matchup with Texas, she routinely spoke about the importance of belief.
'Believe that we're gonna win,' Paopao said. 'Believe that our shots are going in. Believe in each other. And just believe that good basketball is gonna reward us, and believe in our style of play.'
That style of physical defense and inside-out offense proved too much for Texas. Not only because of Edwards, Fulwiley or Paopao. But because Staley could turn to almost anyone on her bench and see a tangible boost.
'Over a 40-minute period with our depth, I think we just wear teams down,' she said.
Fulwiley said that with around seven minutes to play and the Gamecocks up 14, she turned to Feigan and assistant coach Khadijah Sessions beside her on the bench and told them, 'We got this.' Both told the Gamecocks' confident sophomore that the game wasn't over quite yet.
But when fellow sophomore Tessa Johnson hit a 3-point with just under five minutes to play — one of only Gamecocks' seven 3s— multiple South Carolina players said they knew then that they would be returning to the championship just as they expected.
A rematch with UConn awaits. The teams met in February when the Huskies snapped the Gamecocks' 71-game home winning streak in an 87-58 drubbing. Looking back, South Carolina players said the team didn't look like itself.
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It's a good thing, then, the Gamecocks have snapped back to reality ahead of the rematch.
'We were way more free. We played loose,' Paopao said of the Texas win. 'We played South Carolina basketball, and we were having so much fun out there.'
A repeat performance on Sunday will lead to the most enjoyable celebration of all.
(Photos: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)