Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks kicked off their season in dominant fashion, stomping to a 94–54 win over Grand Canyon. It was a full-circle moment for their opponent’s head coach, Winston Gandy, who received a ring before the game for his phenomenal work as a South Carolina assistant last season. But while the night began with celebration for Gandy, it ended in a tough loss in his first game as a head coach. And you’d think a convincing 40-point victory would leave the Gamecocks’ veteran boss feeling satisfied heading into the next game, right?

Not quite.

Despite the 40-point win, Coach Staley was far from satisfied with her team’s defensive performance. In the postgame press conference, she said: “I think in the beginning, our ball screen defence was a little cleaner than it was when we played UNC. And then they made adjustments, and then we couldn’t quite keep the same discipline. Then we’re switching when we’re not supposed to switch. And we’re point switching. I don’t even know where they got that from. I really don’t know where they got that switch. It’s not been a part of who we’ve been.”

“Again, though, other people come in with habits. And if that’s what they do, they don’t even do that in practice. It was new to see that. And it was not just one. It was like our starting guards did it. They all did it at certain times. They would leave their player and go rebound. And it was like really, really undisciplined basketball that we have to clean up,” Staley admitted.

The Gamecocks opened the game with two new faces in the starting lineup: Ta’Niya Latson and Madina Okot. So it’s easy to imagine that some of their defensive habits from previous systems might’ve kicked in, leading them to act on instinct rather than instruction. But it wasn’t just the newcomers.

As Dawn Staley hinted, even the returning guards fell into the same hole. And there’s a big reason for it. Star forward Joyce Edwards picked up three personal fouls in just 11 minutes against Grand Canyon, and things didn’t get much easier when freshman Agot Makeer and transfer center Madina Okot also found themselves in early foul trouble. So what did Coach Staley do? She turned to a pretty unexpected backup plan.

Right before halftime, she rolled out a four-guard lineup with Madina Okot anchoring the paint alongside Raven Johnson, Ta’Niya Latson, Tessa Johnson, and Agot Makeer. And she kept going back to it, switching up combinations every time. But there was a problem with this, despite the head coach later calling the situation “ok.”

“Haven’t done it in practice,” Dawn Staley admitted. “We just did it because we needed a better matchup and we were in foul trouble.” With that context, it’s not hard to see why the defense looked messy, just as the HC pointed out. The new faces, unexpected lineup shifts, and the early foul trouble all played a part.

And yes, you can feel Dawn Staley’s frustration, especially coming off her first championship game loss since taking over at USC back in 2008. She’s eager to restore the Gamecocks’ dominance. But like all great teams, even South Carolina needs time to settle in, figure things out, and build toward something bigger.

That said, Coach Staley has one more problem to solve.

Dawn Staley provides Maddy McDaniel injury update

The Gamecocks tipped off the season already stretched thin, down to just 10 players after Chloe Kitts’ ACL tear and Ashlyn Watkins’ decision to take a break. With such a tight roster, staying healthy was at the top of Dawn Staley’s checklist. Yet, in their very first game of the season, there was a casualty.

Backup point guard Maddy McDaniel went down with an injury late in the third quarter, with 4:04 left to play, and didn’t return. She was expected to be the primary reserve behind starting point guard Raven Johnson, so seeing her leave early was a worrying sight for South Carolina fans.

Fortunately, the injury doesn’t appear to be too serious. Dawn Staley said it looked like a simple “knee-to-knee” collision and added that she isn’t “too worried” about McDaniel’s status moving forward… A sigh of relief for a team that can’t afford another major setback!

It’ll be interesting to see whether Dawn Staley sticks with that four-guard lineup as the season unfolds, especially with roster depth already stretched thin. But one thing’s for sure: a lot will ride on Ta’Niya Latson shouldering the offensive load for South Carolina as they chase a fourth national title under Staley.

The Gamecocks face the Bowling Green Falcons up next at home on Friday at 7 pm.