South Carolina women's basketball: Sania Feagin has earned a starting role, for now

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The question: Who would be the fifth starter?

The answer: Sania Feagin. At least for one exhibition game.

By the end of the summer, it had become fairly clear who four of the Gamecocks’ five starters would be. Raven Johnson at point guard, Te-Hina Paopao at the other guard, Bree Hall at the wing, and Kamilla Cardoso in the middle.

Johnson is the only player who has started a game for South Carolina and was the primary point guard by the end of last season. Paopao is a three-time all-conference player and three-year starter at Oregon. Hall had quietly emerged as a key player last season despite limited minutes. And Cardoso is a likely first-round WNBA Draft pick.

But the last spot was up for grabs. Aside from Feagin, other options are Ashlyn Watkins, the incredibly athletic sophomore who had an outstanding offseason, and Chloe Kitts, another sophomore who brings more range and finesse to the position. 

Friday before the exhibition, Dawn Staley joked that she had to make a choice, ready or not. 

Feagin was part of the same recruiting class as Hall and Johnson, and at 6-3 with perimeter skills, ESPN touted her as the most talented player in that loaded class. Feagin signed with South Carolina with the understanding that her freshman season would essentially be a redshirt year to get stronger and learn the college game. When Victaria Saxton decided to use her extra covid year last season, Feagin’s redshirt year became two. 

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Feagin has shown flashes of her talent. She had 10 points and seven rebounds in 13 minutes against Howard as a freshman. She had 15 points against ETSU last season and averaged 4.9 points in just 7.9 minutes per game.

It was no secret that Feagin was a defensive liability, and that is what limited her playing time. Now, with two years of experience, that side of the court is no longer such a liability. Staley said that Feagin’s name still gets called out a lot in practice, but where it was once for making mistakes, now it’s for good plays.

“I think Fagan has stepped up pretty big,” Staley said before the exhibition. “We’ve been playing her on the perimeter and playing her in the post. So we’ll have to play her a little bit at both positions.”

Despite having to know multiple positions, Feagin feels more comfortable.

“I’m just doing what coach wants me to do, being coachable,” Feagin said. “I’m getting better on my defense, just staying aggressive and being who I know I am.”

Against Rutgers, Feagin started and played 15 minutes. She had eight points on 4-4 shooting, plus three assists and a rebound. She played within the flow and didn’t force things, providing a nice compliment to Cardoso. However, Feagin had company stuffing the box score. 

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She was also the first substitution of each half, replaced by Watkins after a few minutes. Watkins (17 minutes) and Kitts (18 minutes) each played more than Feagin did, and all three were productive. Watkins had six points, six rebounds, and four blocks. Kitts had ten points and ten rebounds, plus three blocks and two assists. 

With that kind of productivity, it makes sense that Staley said after the game that the forward rotation isn’t settled.

“It’s a lineup that we probably have played not very long,” Staley said. “There are just some question marks in our post play, who that person would be. Sania Feagin started to separate herself from some other people for starting, not necessarily for playing, just for starting the basketball game. She’s been around our program for a long time so she really has an understanding of what we want. In fairness to her, we have been playing her on the perimeter a lot. We moved her to that four spot and she was actually more energized, having played on the perimeter. Hopefully, it will be a big hit for us if she ends up starting or if she ends up playing on the perimeter.”

With two weeks between the exhibition and the start of the season, there is plenty of time to make changes, but Feagin made a good first impression.

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