Te-Hina Paopao joins South Carolina's 'Seat Belt Gang' after strong defensive performance against Indiana

For much of the 2024-25 campaign, the South Carolina women’s basketball team has been home to one of the most exclusive clubs in college sports: the ‘Seat Belt Gang.’

The club’s two original members – Raven Johnson and Bree Hall – have been putting clamps on opposing offenses for much of the year, hence the nickname. Johnson’s defensive exploits this season have helped her land a spot on the SEC’s All-Defensive Team for the first time. While Hall has not received much national attention for her defense, she has quietly averaged just 1.2 personal fouls committed per game and drew some major praise from Dawn Staley when the Gamecock coach said Hall has a place on “my all-time all-defensive.”

But after the Gamecocks’ 63-54 win over Indiana, Johnson and Hall decided it was time to add a third teammate to their ranks: Te-Hina Paopao, a player who has been better known for her three-point shooting prowess throughout her college career.

“Te-Hina wants to be better, especially on defense. She brings a lot on offense, but the stuff that she did today, the blocks, they were phenomenal,” Johnson said. “She’s definitely a part of the ‘Seat Belt Gang.'”

“She was getting up there, but she really earned her spot today,” added Hall.

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Heading into Sunday’s game, Paopao had totaled 35 blocks and 164 steals across 148 collegiate appearances. That’s just over 1.1 steals per game and around 0.23 blocks per game – or an average of one block every four contests.

Paopao finished South Carolina’s win with four blocked shots, in addition to two steals. And she did that while also stifling one of the Hoosiers’ top offensive weapons in Shay Ciezki.

Ciezki came into the contest as Indiana’s second-leading scorer, averaging 11.8 points per game. She ended up with 12 points on 5-10 shooting.

Dawn Staley said Paopao executed the Gamecocks’ scouting report, which listed Ciezki’s propensity to drive left, “to a T.”

“Shay does a really good job going left. She is unconscious going left. She is super efficient, and Pao just sat on her left hand, forced her right,” Dawn Staley said. “I think she got 12 points, but she would have gotten a lot more if she would have got into the flow of going left.”

Paopao also collected three of her four blocked shots while marking Ciezki. By the midpoint of the first quarter, she had already blocked a Ciezki jumper and a Yarden Garzon layup attempt. Paopao then swatted away a Ciezki layup in the second quarter and another one of her jumpers in the third.

“I’m really proud of myself. I had more blocks than threes today, but that’s okay,” Paopao said. “I thought today was more of a defensive mindset for myself. The scouting report was she’s a really good player, so I didn’t want to let my team down… I just have to carry that defensive mindset throughout the tournament.”

Paopao’s performance against Indiana served as the culmination of two years’ worth of growth on defense, Staley said. She added that this development stemmed from frequently being targeted by opposing players in games.

“They go after her; they put her in ball screen actions. They target her to be able to defend; they wear her out so her shot isn’t as fluid in the third and fourth quarters. And then, you get tired of hearing it: ‘Hey, Pao, you’re up. They’re coming after you.’ You hear it over and over again,” Staley said. “We’re a culture of playing defense, and if you don’t play it, you stick out. Pao is not one that wants to stick out in that way.”

Although Paopao shined predominantly on defense, she still had a strong all-around performance for South Carolina. She shot 4-6 from the floor (including 1-3 from beyond the arc) and logged nine points, four rebounds and two assists. She also demonstrated her ability to perform in the clutch, nailing a three-pointer as the shot clock nearly ran out with just under five minutes remaining in the game.

But nothing better encapsulated the pride Paopao had in her defense more than smiling and laughing in the locker room while making a motion that resembled putting on a seat belt.

“To be part of the ‘Seat Belt Gang,’ it’s a really good feeling because of how they’re really good on defense,” Paopao said. “Just being part of the gang, I’m pretty proud of that.”

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