South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley broke down the Gamecocks’ narrow 66-64 loss to Texas in the Players Era Festival championship on Thursday, offering insight into key moments, individual performances, and what the team learned from the defeat. Here’s a full breakdown of her postgame comments.
On the final sequence where Ta’Niya Latson tied the game late
When asked what the play call was after the timeout — the possession where Ta’Niya Latson drew a foul and knocked down two clutch free throws — Staley said the plan was simple.
Latson later explained: “To get a stop. That was the call. We had to get a stop after that.”
Staley backed that up, saying:
“That was the play, simply. That’s what she’s great at.”
On Joyce Edwards’ growth and fourth-quarter challenges
Freshman star Joyce Edwards helped fuel South Carolina’s comeback and grabbed four late rebounds, but she couldn’t find scoring opportunities in the fourth quarter. Staley laid out what comes next for her development.
“Next step is you’ve got to be able to make plays — plays for yourself, and plays for your teammates. That’s the next step.”
Staley noted that Edwards forced a few late attempts:
“I think she had about three shots in the fourth quarter that were forced. But we give her the leeway to do that.”
She added that Edwards is still learning to read the floor:
“She just has to be aware because I think she had Tessa (Johnson) in a corner. She’s a young player that we have to put her in situations and show her situations in real time and also gain…”
Staley emphasized that the matchup was valuable growth for the team:
“This was a great game, great SEC game, for us to learn what we need to do in order for us to win games like this. I’m not upset at all at this game. This is going to help us… We played some players that needed to get experience in big-time games.”
One of those players? Adhel Tac, who earned praise for her impact.
“We’re a little more comfortable with putting Adhel Tac in the game… I like her energy and effort out there, and I like her rebounding.”
On what she liked from South Carolina overall
Staley highlighted several positives, especially on the boards.
“I did like our rebounding until the fourth quarter. I thought we were edging them out in rebounding.”
She also praised Madina Okot for another big performance:
“Madina (Okot) got another double-double.”
Facing a veteran Texas team early in the season gave her confidence in the Gamecocks’ potential:
“If you can give them a run for their money in that way, you’re on to something… I like our resiliency. We’ve just got to clean up some things at the end of the game.”
On South Carolina’s defensive showing
Texas shot efficiently for most of the night, but South Carolina locked down in the second quarter. Staley said the Gamecocks mostly defended the way they want to — with room to grow.
“We played our style of defense. This is who we are… I like the fact that we can clearly see where we need to get better.”
Her biggest critique was discipline around screens:
“We weren’t disciplined in guarding screening actions… giving them an advantage before we even actually are able to get back in front of them.”
She said improvement in guarding off-ball actions is a must.
On the tournament as a whole — and future appearances
Despite the loss, Staley saw the trip as beneficial in every way.
“Positive, you get great competition. You’re able to get some quality wins. Even in this loss, it’s a quality loss. So, it doesn’t really hurt us.”
She confirmed South Carolina will return:
“Yeah, we’ll be back for two more years.”
More importantly, she believes these games push the team forward:
“I like the fact that they gutted it out… we could see where we faltered. And when you can see that… we’re moving the chain. We’re going to move the chain in practice — that’s the most important thing.”
