COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina coach Dawn Staley isn’t panicking, even as some of her famous “Fams” follow the Gamecocks’ first loss in two seasons.
Sure, South Carolina has lost just twice in its past 87 games. Still, even Staley can’t understand the concerns she’s heard since the team’s record 43-game winning streak ended with a 77-62 loss at UCLA.
The sky isn’t falling, Staley said before the Gamecocks (5-1), who slipped from No. 1 to No. 4, get back at it against No. 15 Iowa State (5-1) at the Fort Myers Tipoff in Florida.
“This is a team that hasn’t had a lot of losses,” said Staley, whose teams have lost a total of four games over the past four seasons, a stretch that included league titles in 2022 and last season.
“But you handle it with grace and you teach lessons from it,” Staley said. “Things have come to light and hopefully we can fill some of those gaps.”
South Carolina has suffered from a slow start this season and that happened again in the loss to the Bruins. The Gamecocks shot just nine of 34 in the first two periods and trailed 43-22, a hole they couldn’t dig themselves out of.
Part of the problem is that the team has yet to fully adjust to playing without last year’s leading scorer and rebounder in center back Kamilla Cardoso. The 6-foot-2 Cardoso was a virtual lock who scored low once she got the pass.
Staley said the Gamecocks haven’t found the same comfort in the post so far this season. The team’s outside shooting couldn’t make up the difference at UCLA.
The outside reaction to the defeat surprised Staley. Some on social media — Staley constantly has her head in her phone to record the outside comments — wondered why dynamic guard MiLaysia Fulwiley played less than three minutes and had zero points after averaging 12.8 points over her previous five games.
Are there any lineup changes for Staley? “No, no, no, no,” she said emphatically.
And all is well with Fulwiley, the sophomore who was the Southeastern Conference Tournament MVP a season ago, Staley said.
“MiLaysia is a generational talent,” Staley said. “Does this mean she won’t experience some things? Yes, she is.”
Fulwiley and the rest of the team, after a mostly uneventful cross-country flight home, returned to training to wash away the defeat and get back to what they know best: winning.
“We came in thinking, ‘Hey, it was an early loss,’” said Te-Hina Paopao, South Carolina’s leading scorer with 14.2 points per game. “The world will not end. We are still here.”
South Carolina’s early challenging stretch — it will have faced four ranked opponents in its first 10 games — continues with the Cyclones, who are led by Audi Crooks, a center ranked 15th in the nation with 21, 7 points per game.
The Gamecocks shouldn’t give Crooks easy, open touches inside and let her move a few times before getting off a shot, Staley said. “I think that’s to our advantage,” she said.
South Carolina hasn’t lost two in a row since 2019, when it fell to Mississippi State to end the regular season and then was defeated by Arkansas to start the SEC Tournament.
It has been fourteen years since the Gamecocks lost consecutive non-conference games when they were defeated by Penn State, Stanford and UC Davis in November 2010.
Staley’s message to those making the noise from outside? Stay calm. The season is long and South Carolina is packed with talented players who are still finding the best way to mix it up.
“We’re going to continue to get this team where it needs to be,” Staley said in her 17th season with the Gamecocks. “It’s a shame that we have a schedule that doesn’t lend itself to happier times for everyone.
“It is our choice to do that,” she continued. “So it will only make us better.”
