South Carolina sees 'collective effort' pay off in dominant victory over Arkansas

South Carolina found itself in uncharted waters when the buzzer sounded at Colonial Life Arena on Sunday.

The Gamecocks had just suffered their third defeat of the 2024-25 campaign at the hands of UConn by a 87-58 score. South Carolina’s three losses through 26 this season equaled the number it had accumulated over the last three years combined.

In the days since that shock result, the Gamecocks have not dwelled much on the past. They addressed concerns internally before leaving them behind and focusing instead on Arkansas, their next opponent.

But with a “come to Jesus” meeting, in the words of Dawn Staley, came a call to action from the team’s head coach.

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“Players have to step up. Coaches have to step up,” Staley said during a media availability on Wednesday. “If we want to accomplish the goals that we have out there, it’s going to take a collective effort.”

By the time the clock ticked down to zero in the team’s next game against Arkansas the following day, South Carolina had answered that call. The Gamecocks saw contributions up and down the roster in a 95-55 win over the Razorbacks.

“We knew we had to come in and execute, show the world who South Carolina is, remind them who South Carolina is,” Joyce Edwards said. “That’s what we did.”

Despite the setbacks South Carolina has experienced in recent games, its depth has remained one of its strong suits. Heading into Thursday’s contest against Arkansas, six players were averaging at least 20 minutes played per game. Another three – including Ashlyn Watkins, who has missed much of the season after suffering a torn ACL – had averaged at least 18 minutes played per contest.

This spreading of the wealth in terms of playing time has translated to the Gamecocks’ offensive output, too. Edwards, South Carolina’s leading scorer, averaged 13.0 points per game as of Feb. 19, placing 23rd in the conference in that metric.

Many of Edwards’ teammates have supported her scoring efforts throughout the campaign with strong offensive showings of their own. Two more Gamecocks, MiLaysia Fulwiley and Te-Hina Paopao, averaged double-digit points per game, and an additional four players scored seven or more points per contest.

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South Carolina sang the same tune against the Razorbacks. Four players finished the game in double figures, and every player except one – Sakima Walker, who saw the court for three minutes – made at least one basket.

“It was a good game for all of our players,” Staley said.

The Gamecocks’ young emerging core led the team on the scoring front. Edwards scored a team-high 18 points, which she generated from 8-14 shooting and a 2-3 mark from the free-throw line, in addition to grabbing eight rebounds. Fulwiley, through a series of acrobatic finishes near the rim, added 15 points while making six of 10 field goal attempts.

“I was very confident compared to how confident I’ve been in the past,” Fulwiley said. “I felt like a lot of layups were falling for me, and I was just excited. It made me feel good about taking more layups, and my teammates pushed me through and gave me that confidence and that boost that I needed.”

Bree Hall, who had not scored double-digit points in a game since Feb. 2, emerged as a dangerous threat from behind the arc. Hall shot 5-13 from the field overall, but her three made three-pointers in the first half helped keep the home team ahead.

Before Thursday’s contest, Staley challenged more of the team’s veterans to improve their production after a brief spell of low-scoring performances.

“Pao’s got to be better. Chloe’s got to be better. Feagin’s got to be better,” Staley said on Wednesday. “Those are the players with the most experience.”

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And they delivered. With 10 points and 13 rebounds, Chloe Kitts recorded her sixth double-double of the season and her first since Jan. 16.

“I knew she was going to have a good game today. I think Chloe’s just been trying to play consistent for us, play the right way,” Staley said. “I put a lot of pressure on Chloe because I feel like she’s the player that can make really great basketball decisions and plays. When she doesn’t do that for us, we’re a different basketball team.”

Sania Feagin also finished the game with eight points on 4-7 shooting and two rebounds. Paopao, however, saw her offensive struggles from Sunday’s game against UConn carry over into Thursday’s win. After making just three of 11 shots on Sunday, she went 1-5 and scored four points against Arkansas.

That did little to keep the Gamecocks from bouncing back in a big way for the third time this season. One game after South Carolina suffered its first defeat of the season to UCLA, it beat Iowa State by 40 points on Thanksgiving. The Gamecocks followed up their Super Bowl Sunday loss to Texas with a 38-point victory over Florida.

Staley said she hopes South Carolina can carrying this momentum through to the postseason.

“We don’t like to lose the way that we’ve lost the three games,” Staley said. “There’s a certain focus to just get back to our habits. Hopefully, we can continue that as the regular season comes to a close.”

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