South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has been a perfectionist during her tenure with the Gamecocks, earning three national titles, including an immaculate 38-0 run to the title in 2024. She doesn’t allow her team to get away with even the least of the errors in every outing, even if it is an exhibition game.
The Gamecocks won 112-31 against the Anderson Trojans in an exhibition game on Friday. Still, Staley wasn’t pleased with the team’s overall effort, voicing it out on the team’s postgame media availability session.
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Three-time national champion coach Dawn Staley spoke about her frustration with some of the team’s mistakes during the tune-up game against Anderson. She said the team was a little stagnant while trying to play at a quicker pace.
“We didn’t reverse the ball enough like we just push past shot and we weren’t hitting and we got to make adjustments when we’re not hitting,” Staley said. “At least skip it over, create a little bit more just some fluidity and rhythm to our offense. So, it was a little stagnant.”
The veteran coach added that she understands the team’s situation, as they are playing for the first time since the national championship game against UConn in April.
She anticipated her team would be rusty in the first part of the game before they got going and built a 61-8 lead at halftime.
South Carolina stepped off the gas pedal in the second half, but it still overpowered Anderson, scoring 51 points in the final 20 minutes to open the season on a bright note.
The Gamecocks shot 53.1% from the field, which was worsened by its 22.2% clip from the 3-point area. The team smoked Anderson on transition, scoring 52 fastbreak points, 34 points off the Trojans’ 24 turnovers, and put up 68 points in the paint.
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Sophomore forward Joyce Edwards led the Gamecocks with 27 points while Mississippi State transfer center Madina Okot finished with a 17-point, 15-rebound double-double.
Freshman Agot Makeer scored 10 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter and added five steals. In comparison, Florida State transfer guard Ta’Niya Latson and redshirt senior Raven Johnson came up with 14 and 10 points, respectively for South Carolina.
Dawn Staley’s team heads to State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, to meet North Carolina on Oct. 30 for their final preseason exhibition.
Ranked No. 2 in the AP Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll, South Carolina opens its regular season against Grand Canyon on Nov. 3 at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina.
