On the sideline coaching a Sweet 16 matchup against No. 4 seed Maryland, South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley didn't look like her usual vibrant self. She was somber, and her face calculated.
Her South Carolina Gamecocks team found itself behind ― again. In back-to-back March Madness performances, South Carolina was down at halftime. It happened while playing the No. 9 seed Indiana Hoosiers in the second round, and Maryland, despite having just a two-point lead at halftime, had the defending champs on the ropes, too. South Carolina looked frazzled, rattled even, and no one was coming to save them from their mountain of first-half blunders.
At the very minimum, the Terrapins seemingly figured out a framework that forced the Gamecocks to abandon their high-intensity brand of basketball, which leans heavily on a defense that creates transition points and an offense that breaks down opponents one painful shot at a time. When the third quarter arrived, a visibly frustrated Staley was still encouraging her players when, slowly, a possession at a time, they forced several stops.
Then, as the Gamecocks inched into the fourth, guard MiLaysia Fulwiley came alive.
Milaysia Fulwiley's electric day saves South Carolina
Fulwiley is a walking highlight reel. At any moment, one of her sensational baskets or behind-the-back passes could end up on SportsCenter. However, she was more than a viral clip for South Carolina on Friday. She was their savior.
Her 23 points off the bench were a game high and included 16 in the second half. "When you have a dynamic player like MiLaysia, you put the ball in her hands," Staley said postgame. "And you allow her to just create her magic, and she did that for us today."
Magic feels very fitting for what it would take to erase the rolling ball of first-half mistakes by South Carolina and move the Gamecocks to the next round. There were terrible shots and not nearly enough ball ...
