Sania Feagin stepping up when it matters most for South Carolina
South Carolina women’s basketball fans entered into a mild panic three weeks ago. Junior forward Ashlyn Watkins injured her knee against Mississippi State, and a few days later, the Gamecocks announced their best post defender would miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
As it turned out, Coach Dawn Staley didn’t have to turn anywhere other than her starting lineup. Senior post player Sania Feagin has stepped up in a big way for the Gamecocks.
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Since Watkins’ injury against Mississippi State, Feagin and the Gamecocks have played five times. South Carolina is 5-0 during that stretch and has beaten four ranked opponents, including top 5 teams Texas and LSU.
Feagin has averaged 10.4 points and 7 rebounds per game, both up from her season average. She’s also been extremely efficient, posting 5-for-6, 4-for-5, 4-for-7, 4-for-7, and 4-for-6 shooting numbers in those contests. Feagin has drawn fouls at a high rate, including nine whistles in the past two games. She’s even distributed the ball well, dishing out three assists (matching her season high) three times in the last five games. With her increased usage, Feagin has turned the ball over a bit more than she’d like, but that’s about the only thing she’s done wrong lately.
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However, it’s her defensive impact that has been most noticed. No one can quite step in for Ashlyn Watkins, her rebounding tenacity, and her versatility on defense, but Feagin has been great defending the post.
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Against Texas A&M, Feagin helped limit star big Lauren Ware to 1-for-9 shooting while adding two blocks. She then swatted six shots (a career-high output) against Texas before being part of a stifling effort against Alabama that saw every Crimson Tide player shoot 40% or worse. Against Oklahoma and LSU in the past week, Feagin had six total blocks. Versus the Tigers, Feagin played a big role in slowing Morrow’s offensive output as she shot 6-for-19 from the field.
Just how important was Feagin against LSU? She led South Carolina with over 36 minutes played. That is a career-high number for her and a season-high for any Gamecock during the 2024-2025 campaign.
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If South Carolina is going to continue playing like the best team in the country, the Gamecocks are going to need to keep getting quality production from Sania Feagin. The senior has worked extremely hard in her career to move from deep deep bench reserve to rotational player to starter, and it all is paying off for her now.
Feagin and the Gamecocks will play again on Monday night against the Tennessee Lady Volunteers. USC and UT will tip off inside Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville at 7:00 p.m. ESPN2 will carry the game, and the ESPN app will stream it.
