COLUMBIA ā It was a 40-minute dress rehearsal, and the final score dictated a thunderous ovation. But No. 2 South Carolinaās 90-49 gutting of Texas A&M on Jan. 9 had some questions among the reviews.
Is that a sign of how dominant the Gamecocks are going to be the rest of the year, one game immediately after they lostĀ Ashlyn Watkins for the seasonĀ (while Maddy McDaniel remained on the bench with her own injury)?
Or was Texas A&M (8-7, 1-2 SEC) just that bad?
We wanted to get off to a quicker start, better start. And we did,ā USC coachĀ Dawn StaleyĀ said. āFor the most part, we held serve. The people we put in the game impacted it, no matter how much time or how little time.ā
The Gamecocks (15-1, 3-0) gave up six points to nemesis Aicha Coulibaly in the gameās first five minutes (she droppedĀ 32 on USC in last yearās SEC Tournament) but quickly tightened the screws afterward. A 15-2 run led by freshmanĀ Joyce EdwardsĀ put the game to bed, and Staley was able to spend the rest of the evening tinkering.
Maryam Dauda, who rarely rises from the bench, was in early in the first quarter. The Gamecocks have to see what she can do now and took advantage of available minutes in an already decided game.
āWe donāt have to play like Ash,ā said Dauda, who had a bucket, a board and a block in nine minutes. āWe just have to come in, and everybody has to do their job and fill in that job.
Tessa Johnson took some turns at point guard. The tempo worked well and kept the Aggies off-balance with who to guard (and she also scored 11 points).
With Watkins out, somebody in the post had to step up. Edwards figured it might as well be her, pouring in a team-high 19 points and notching her seventh double-double (10 rebounds).
āYou donāt try to fill in for her position, you just do what you do, and at the end of the day, everybody will elevate their game,ā Edwards said.
You donāt try to fill in for her position, you just do what you do, and at the end of the day, everybody will elevate their game,ā Edwards said.
āAlthough I didnāt say, āGive us more,ā sheās taken it upon herself to do more, to give more, to prepare for moments like these,ā Staley said.
