South Carolina women's basketball: Five Things to Watch - Texas

Making its sixth consecutive appearance in the SEC tournament championship game, South Carolina faces Texas for the title. Find out how to watch and what to watch for.

1. Fulwiley Happens
The SEC Tournament seems to be MiLaysia Fulwiley’s happy place. She won Tournament MVP last season after scoring a career-high 24 in the title game against LSU. Fulwiley was the first freshman to win tournament MVP since Candace Parker in 2006. 

It’s possible that Fuwiley has been even better in the tournament this season. She’s averaging 17 points on 46% shooting, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 3.0 steals.

“We’ve got to come in and throw the first punch,” Fulwiley said. “We’ve just got to be ready, be physical without fouling, and do our job.”

In the first game against Texas, Fulwiley had eight points, four rebounds, and three steals. She was outstanding in the rematch in Austin, with 13 points, three steals, three assists, and two rebounds. 

Texas couldn’t keep Fulwiley out of the paint in that game but got lucky when she left the game early in the fourth quarter with soreness in her arm. She’s been playing even better than that this weekend in Greenville.

2. Joyce Edwards Time?
Joyce Edwards has been about as good as Fulwiley this weekend. She had 21 points against Oklahoma and is averaging 16.5 points and 4.5 rebounds this weekend. If Edwards can lead South Carolina to the title on Sunday, she could give South Carolina back-to-back freshman MVPs.

“It was one of the reasons I came to South Carolina is to win,” Edwards said. “We’re a winning program. That’s what we do. Obviously I would be really honored. We’re just living up to expectations.”

Edwards’ full arsenal has been on display. She is scoring off the bounce, on jump shots, and drawing fouls. 

Edwards had a couple of disappointing games against Texas during the regular season, only averaging 9.0 points. She would like to have a bigger impact on Sunday.

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3. Quick turnaround
The Longhorns’ game against LSU didn’t end until after 9:00 pm on Saturday. They already face a short turnaround, plus they lose an hour due to the start of daylight saving time. That comes down to less than 17 hours from the end of one game to the start of the next, not including postgame and pregame.

Texas had three starters play at least 37 minutes against LSU.

“Just needing to be real careful with them,” Vic Schaefer said. “We’ll figure it out tonight. I’ve really left it up to them, to be honest with you. We’ll see how it goes. Again, if you don’t have your physical body tomorrow, your frame and your well-being tomorrow, you’ve got no chance against South Carolina. Again, I’ve learned that over the course of time.”

Texas has the short end of the stick, but that hardly means that South Carolina is fresh as daisies. The Gamecocks only have a couple more hours of rest.

I asked Edwards, who said about a month ago that she doesn’t get tired, how she was feeling.

“Not bad,” Edwards said. “I’m probably going to get in the ice bath after this, but I’m just chilling.”

4. Availability Report
Ashlyn Watkins is out for South Carolina.

Aaliyah Moore and Laila Phelia are Out for Texas.

5. Scouting the Longhorns
South Carolina and Texas split the regular season series and tied for the SEC regular season championship, and it came down to the flip of a coin (a coin that commissioner Greg Sankey was carrying around in his pocket on Saturday) to determine who got the top seed. 

But one team seems to be surging right now while the other does not.

In the last six games, South Carolina is averaging 84.5 points with a margin of victory of 22.5 points, despite playing five Quad 1 opponents. South Carolina’s lowest scoring output was 75 points, which came against an Ole Miss team that gives up an average of about 55 points.

During that same span, Texas is averaging 64.7 points with a margin of victory of 13.7 against four Quad 1 opponents. The most Texas has scored is 72 points against a Florida team that gave up an average of 71.3 points this season.

The Texas offense has been stuck in the mud, in other words.

It was in both games against South Carolina, too, scoring 50 points in the loss and just 66 in the win. But South Carolina’s offense was worse in that loss, shooting under 37%.

Texas is shooting just 38.9% in Greenville, compared to South Carolina’s 50.7%. I could keep going through statistics, but every one tells the same story about Texas’ struggling offense. 

There are some legacy stats as well. Schaefer has never beaten Dawn Staley in the postseason, holding an 0-6 record, including 0-4 in the SEC Tournament championship. The other games were the 2017 national championship and 2021 Elite Eight.

The Ws
Who: #1 South Carolina (29-3, 15-1) vs #2 Texas (31-2, 15-1)
When: 3:00 ET, Sunday, March 9 (Team sendoff at 12:30 at Grand Bohemian Hotel)
Where: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, SC
Watch: ESPN

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