South Carolina women's basketball: The 3-2-1 - Clutch Players, Burning Questions, and a Favorite Play from last week

South Carolina picked up big wins over Clemson and Southern Cal last week to stay undefeated. We look at the clutch players, burning questions, and a favorite play from the second week of the season.

Three Clutch Players

Joyce Edwards

vs Clemson: 30 minutes*, 18 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists

vs Southern Cal: 35 minutes*, 17 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals

Simply put, Edwards has dominated. She has been aggressively looking for her shot and making her presence felt defensively, two things she didn’t always do as a freshman. There was no shortage of talent in The Real SC game, but Edwards was clearly the best player on the floor.

Tessa Johnson

vs Clemson: 35 minutes*, 13 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2-4 3PT

vs Southern Cal: 36 minutes*, 14 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2-4 3PT

Johnson’s goals for her junior season centered around becoming more consistent, and so far she has done that. She’s filling up the box score, but also hitting timely shots. Johnson scored six points during the decisive 10-0 fourth-quarter run against Clemson, and hit a pair of threes to blow up the third quarter against Southern Cal.

Madina Okot

vs Clemson: 25 minutes*, 12 points, 12 rebounds, block

vs Southern Cal: 35 minutes*, 6 points, 15 rebounds, 2 blocks, steal

Okot’s 15 rebounds against Southern Cal were the most by a Gamecock since Kamilla Cardoso had 17 in the 2024 national championship game. She’s been the game-changing big that the Gamecocks lacked last season.

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Two Burning Questions

1. Has South Carolina figured out its defensive issues?

Two games into the season, Dawn Staley was concerned. Through three quarters against Clemson, she still wasn’t thrilled. 

But South Carolina held Clemson without a basket in the fourth quarter and then completely shut down explosive Southern Cal.

In the last five quarters, South Carolina has allowed just 26.2% (22-84) shooting. Even if you include the entirety of the Clemson game, South Carolina has allowed just 28.1% shooting.

2. Should we be concerned about turnovers?

South Carolina had 12 turnovers against Clemson and 17 against Southern Cal, losing the margin minus-two and minus-four. 

The Gamecocks want to play in transition, and when you try to run as much as possible, you are conceding that you will commit a few turnovers. But that doesn’t mean losing the turnover battle. It’s something to keep an eye on this week.

One Favorite Play

I love defense into offense. This was Agot Makeer, Madina Okot, and Ta’Niya Latson swarming the ball on defense, recovering, and Makeer cutting off the passing lane. She took it the other way for a finish over Kennedy Smith, one of Southern Cal’s best defenders.

https://twitter.com/michael_luczak/status/1990104991323857368?s=20

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