South Carolina women's basketball: First and Second Rounds notebook
The first two rounds are in the books and South Carolina is headed to Birmingham. Let’s wrap up the weekend in Columbia.
Quoth the Raven
Redshirt junior point guard Raven Johnson has a decision to make about whether to declare for the WNBA Draft or return for her senior season. Players have until 10 days before the draft (April 4 this year) or 24 hours following their final game to declare for the draft.
Johnson intends to wait as long as possible to make her decision.
“After we win the national championship,” she said.
I told Johnson that Zia Cooke used the exact same phrase in 2023 about her COVID year, and then they were upset in the national semifinal. Johnson immediately knocked on her wooden locker and asked to change her answer.
“Let’s change that: After the season,” she said.
Butter
On Friday, Under Armour announced new player edition shoes for MiLaysia Fulwiley. They are yellow in recognition of her nickname/social media handle “laywitdabutter,” which her high school friends would yell after a smooth play.
Fulwiley hasn’t worn the shoes for a game yet. She told me she is waiting to debut them “if we make it to Birmingham.”
They made it, so look for the new shoes on Friday or Sunday.
Be in the know about all things Gamecocks for just $1 for 7 days—lock in this special offer!
Super Seniors
Bree Hall, Sania Feagin, and (maybe) Raven Johnson played their final college game at Colonial Life Arena on Sunday. Their run has been remarkable.
They went 66-1 at home, won eight NCAA tournament games by an average of 38.4 points (all by double figures), and played in front of 15 sellouts.
Overall, they are 141-6 with three Final Four appearances, two national championships, and an undefeated season.
Mouse in the House
Freshman Maddy McDaniel only played 66 seconds on Sunday, but she had a big impact. Indiana had trouble staying in front of South Carolina in the second half, and late in the third quarter, Dawn Staley sensed the Hoosiers were fatigued.
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With 1:06 left, she pulled McDaniel off the bench and told her to get to the rim. McDaniel got a screen from Chloe Kitts, blew by the defender, and made the layup.
“She said this is your moment, use your speed,” McDaniel said. “That’s what she wanted. She said go downhill and do what you do.”
I asked Staley about her confidence in McDaniel to put the freshman in cold in a pivotal moment.
“Maddy’s always learning, she’s always ready,” Staley said. “I thought that because Chloe was getting off, they were sticking more closely to her in the third quarter. I thought it would create an opportunity for Maddy to get to the basket and get a layup and she went and executed just that.
Gimme Some Money
This is the first year that the NCAA is paying out “units” for the women’s basketball tournament. A unit is a set amount of money (that goes up each year) that is paid to conferences for each game a member school plays. This year, a unit is worth $113,636.
By advancing to the Sweet 16, South Carolina has earned three units for $340,908 (or slightly less than one unit for the men’s tournament). Each unit pays out for three years (six on the men’s side). The SEC collects all the units each year and redistributes equal portions to the member schools.
It isn’t program-changing money, but it is a big step in toward financial stability for women’s basketball.
