South Carolina women's basketball: Ta'Niya Latson has found her balance

Running the fast break, Ta’Niya Latson caught Joyce Edwards’ outlet pass near midcourt with one hand. She took one dribble toward the lane as if she were going to attack the basket, just enough to create space for Tessa Johnson in the corner. Latson whipped a one-handed pass to Johnson for the open shot.

Johnson missed the three, but this is a story about Latson, so that isn’t important. It was an explosive, decisive play by Latson. Vintage Ta’Niya, if you’d like.

Latson led the nation in scoring last season, averaging 25.2 points for Florida State. That was more than South Carolina’s top two scorers, Edwards and MiLaysia Fulwiley, averaged combined. When Latson decided to transfer to South Carolina, it seemed like a match made in heaven.

Nobody was surprised that there were some growing pains. South Carolina hasn’t had a player like Latson in a long time, and Latson had to learn to be a more balanced player.

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The first four games were inconsistent, with Latson often appearing tentative, like she was worried she might step on her new teammates’ toes. She said she had to give herself some grace while she got comfortable with the new situation.

That week, the old Latson resurfaced. She was named the national player of the week for consecutive 24-point games in which she shot a combined 77%. But that was against Winthrop and Queens, two overmatched foes. 

In a three-game stretch against Duke, Texas, and Louisville, the growing pains were back. Latson averaged just 12.3 points on 38% shooting, including a season-low nine points at Louisville.

But there was a silver lining in the Louisville game: five assists, her season-high at the time, and just one turnover. 

Her turnaround began at halftime against NC Central, when Chloe Kitts lit a fuse.

“Yeah, Chloe came up to me and was like, what’s going on?” Latson said. “I’m like, nah, I can’t go out there like that. I’ve got to turn it up. But really just settling in.”

“I think Ta’Niya does best when she gets off to a good start,” Dawn Staley said. “I thought she got off to a good start because she got a lot of assists as well. When I look at the stat sheet, and she’s got four assists, no field goals, we’ve got to give her some touches. So we may try to manufacture some touches to where she’s in a comfort zone. Sometimes she makes it, sometimes she does it, but I don’t want her to get rattled because for someone that can score a lot of points in bunches, as long as a lot of time is left in the game, there’s a lot of opportunity for her to create some opportunities to score.”

Since then, the growing pains appear to be over. Latson finished with 32 points against NC Central, the most by a Gamecock since 2018. She then had eight assists against Penn State. Then it was six steals against USF.

Latson is still scoring in bunches, but she wanted Staley to make her a better all-around player, and that is now showing up, too. She is spearheading South Carolina’s fast-paced offense with Edwards, and she’s comfortable enough to add a little flash, like that pass to Tessa Johnson.

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“I’m just trying to adjust, balance, give myself grace, like I said before, and just rely on my teammates and my coaches,” Latson said. “Talking to Coach definitely helps give me clarity in what I need to do and what I need to bring. Coming here, I wanted to prepare for the next level, and that is to be an all-around player on both ends of the floor.”

Latson is now averaging 17.6 points, which is a career low but is the most by a Gamecock since A’ja Wilson averaged 22.6 in 2017-18 (Edwards leads the Gamecocks this season with 21.4 points). She is shooting 51.4% from the floor and 43.8% from three, both career highs.

“Scorers are hard. They have a different mindset. When they’re not scoring, really it takes them back. And for Ta’Niya, she’s trying to figure it out, what’s the happy medium?” Staley said. “The dishes, her defense is a lot better. Just when she first came on campus. So all those things are making her a better pro; that’s sacrificing some points here and there. But, as you can see, she still has it. That’s not going anywhere. She’s known. She’s got a reputation for scoring. So that’s a known what the unknown is, can you play with other great players?”

With four new starters, four different players in their first year with the Gamecocks, and seemingly never-ending player absences, it took a while for South Carolina to find itself. Now it has an identity: run as much as possible with Latson and Edwards leading the charge.

“It’s instinct,” Edwards said. “I played with Ta’Niya a little bit in high school. But we both like to get out and run and we’re both great players so we can both make the easy pass, make the pass that’s necessary. It’s not as difficult as it may look. It’s all about reading the play and I feel like we both do that really well.”

In the last three games, Latson is averaging 21.7 points, 4.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 4,3 steals, and just 1.3 turnovers.

“It’s just a day-by-day thing,” Latson said. “It’s a new team, new teammates, new atmosphere. I just try to give myself grace, and I know that it’s coming. I know God didn’t bring me this far to leave me. I’m just putting in the work, keeping my head down, and not listening to social media. It’s just social media. I just need to play basketball. I know what I can bring to the table and I think the world knows that too.“

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