The South Carolina women's basketball team just won their fifth straight game after losing to a top-ranked UCLA Bruins team that is rolling right now early in the season. Not only are the Gamecocks on an active five-game win streak, but they also protected their home winning streak in Colonial Life Arena, extending it to 64 games after the USF win.
The Gamecocks soared early, jumping to an 18-4 lead in the first quarter, which gave head coach Dawn Staley an opportunity to put some of her bench players in early. However, the Bulls weren't going to go down without a fight, especially so early in the game.
The Bulls were able to bring the game back within 10 points thanks to the play of bench player Romi Levy, who was playing with a mask after suffering an injury to her nose in USF's game against Vanderbilt back in November.
Even though the Bulls were keeping the game close, Staley felt comfortable enough to split her team in two, and hockey subbed throughout the game to get her bench players good minutes. Due to this method, guard Joyce Edwards, who normally comes off the bench, was the top scorer for the Gamecocks on Sunday with 15 points in 21 minutes.
This method also gave the starters for Staley a solid break and kept them healthy throughout these final games of the Gamecocks' non-conference schedule. Staley had five players scoring in double digits, with three of her starting hitting that number.
Chloe Kitts continues her great play with 10 points and six rebounds, Sani Feagin continues to break with 14 points and one block, Te-Hina Paopao also put up 10 points, as well as Ashlyn Watkins along with four blocks to add to her total of 15, so far this season.
Towards the end of the game, when the Gamecocks had the win in the bag, Staley showed she was still a tough head coach as South Carolina was giving USF easy buckets and turning the ball over. Staley called a timeout, and it could be seen that she was fuming on the bench with the way her team was playing. During the timeout, it could be seen that Staley was silent just staring at her team, letting them know they needed to pick it up.
The Gamecocks finished out the game strong with a 78-62 win, a score that doesn't necessarily show how dominant South Carolina was in this game. Staley and her crew moved to 10-1 on the season with two non-conference games left before the Gamecocks start a brutal SEC schedule that is definitely testing this new South Carolina squad.