South Carolina women's basketball: Dawn Staley updates player availability ahead of Florida trip

South Carolina expects to be at full strength for its two games in Florida this weekend.

All 10 players were at the portion of practice open to the media on Wednesday, and Dawn Staley has her fingers crossed that she’ll have a full roster on Thursday.

“You’ve got to see how they wake up tomorrow,” Staley said, “So we’ll see.”

11 Games into the season, South Carolina has had all 10 players available at the start of just four games, and finished with all 10 just three times.

Freshman Agot Makeer has not played since the Texas game while in concussion protocol. She returned to practice last week and warmed up before Penn State, but was ultimately held out. Staley said they were being cautious to avoid a second concussion.

Madina Okot missed the second half against NC Central due to illness. Like Makeer, she warmed up before Penn State but did not play. After the game, Staley said both were “day-to-day.”

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“We’re not going to force them to make things worse,” Staley said. “I think we’re very conscious. I think we’re super conservative. And I don’t have a say in it. I get a report every day, and the report is that we’re going to continue, but they’re not there yet. They do some things in practice, and they’re not there yet. So we’ll just, you know, adhere to what they’re telling us, and if we get them back, it’s going to help us. If we don’t, we’ve just got to keep moving forward.”

Also against NC Central, Tessa Johnson missed her first game of the season due to illness. Okot did not play in the second half, also due to illness, leading Staley to say after the game, “It’s going around.” (Visit GamecockCentral’s women’s basketball message board.)

South Carolina’s roster attrition began all the way back in July when Ashlyn Watkins announced she would sit out the season. That dropped South Carolina to 11 players.

Then, a little over a month before the season began, Chloe Kitts was lost for the year with a torn ACL. The Gamecocks were down to 10 players, a tiny roster for a program that is used to going nine or 10 players deep. They could ill-afford to lose another player.

The seemingly constant absences began in the preseason when Ayla McDowell missed the North Carolina game with an illness. 

Maddy McDaniel left the season-opener against Grand Canyon after banging knees. She missed the next four games with the injury and a suspension. 

Agot Makeer left the second game against Bowling Green after getting stepped on, leaving South Carolina with just eight players. She returned to play Clemson, but has missed the last two games while in concussion protocol. 

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The attrition reached its most extreme point against NC Central. Makeer was still out, and then Tessa Johnson was too sick to play. Then, less than four minutes before halftime, Madina Okot left the game because she was also sick. Okot was able to return to the bench after an extended halftime break, but did not play, leaving the Gamecocks with just seven players.

After the game, Staley explained her mentality as only thinking about the players who are available. Staley tries to instill that focus in her players.

“I only see what’s in front of us. So we had eight today. I only see eight,” Staley said. “We got reduced to seven, I only see seven. We’re going to play the hand that we’re dealt to the best of our ability. We can worry about whatever, whenever. But for me, whoever’s healthy, let us know who’s healthy, and then we can take it from there.”

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