South Carolina’s dominant performance against Vanderbilt provided clarity on several fronts while raising new questions heading into Thursday’s road test at Auburn. Here are five critical storylines to monitor.
1. The Lineup Mystery: Will Staley Stick With Her Winning Formula?
Against Vanderbilt, Dawn Staley made her first non-injury-related starting lineup change of the season, inserting wing Agot Makeer in place of post player Madina Okot. The decision carried multiple strategic considerations: Makeer matched up better against Vanderbilt’s guard-heavy lineup, provided better floor spacing, and allowed Okot an opportunity to observe the game before entering.
The results validated Staley’s gamble spectacularly.
Makeer contributed eight points, two rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and two steals while igniting South Carolina’s fast start with two steals in the opening 90 seconds. Okot, meanwhile, delivered her best performance in eight games with 17 points, seven rebounds, and five steals off the bench.
“I feel like Madina played really well. She went out there and got back to herself. Gotti gave us great minutes in the starting lineup today. She played great defense,” Ta’Niya Latson said after the game. “I’m so happy for Madina, and I’m proud of her.”
Auburn, like Vanderbilt, lacks significant size in its starting lineup—a factor that might favor continuing with Makeer. But Staley isn’t revealing her hand.
“It’s a game-by-game (decision). I won’t tell you today, though,” Staley said Wednesday. “But it’s a good look for us. At some point, we’ll have that lineup in and hopefully capitalize like we did last game.”
The strategic ambiguity keeps opponents guessing while giving Staley maximum flexibility.
2. Joyce Edwards: The Complete Performance Blueprint
The smaller lineup placed additional responsibility on Joyce Edwards to play extended stretches at center—out of her natural position. Against Vanderbilt, the National Player of the Year candidate delivered a masterclass in all-around basketball.
Edwards scored 16 points—four below her season average—but added seven rebounds and tied her career-high with six assists. Most impressively, she committed just one turnover despite averaging 3.5 in SEC games entering the contest.
Staley appreciated the balance Edwards achieved. The 16 points represented her highest SEC total since Arkansas, while the six assists matched her previous four games combined.
“I want Joyce to score and be a playmaker. It is both,” Staley said. “She is a key component to our success offensively. Every so often, there’s a player or players that can contribute in that way. She’s capable of doing it all. Scoring, passing, rebounding, and when you’re capable of doing it all, and when you don’t do it all the time, you gotta point it out.”
Staley pushed back against the singular focus on scoring statistics.
“Scoring is glorious, and scoring is the very thing that people glorify. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re excelling. It doesn’t mean you’re excelling,” she explained. “Joyce is just capable of doing all those things and me and the staff feel it, and I hope she felt good about her game.”
The coach identified Edwards’ Vanderbilt performance as potentially surpassing even her impressive showing against Texas as her best game in a South Carolina uniform.
“I think Vandy has superseded that. Just her ability, impact on both sides of the ball, and do it effortlessly,” Staley concluded.
3. The Maddy McDaniel Ball Security Phenomenon
Officially, Quinnipiac’s Paige Girardi leads the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.79 (67 assists to 14 turnovers).
But sophomore guard Maddy “Mouse” McDaniel doesn’t qualify for national rankings due to minutes played—and that’s unfortunate, because her numbers are staggering. McDaniel sports a 7.83 assist-to-turnover ratio with 47 assists against just six turnovers in 18 games.
Six turnovers. In 18 games.
Even more remarkably, five of those turnovers came in just two games—against Florida and Vanderbilt. McDaniel has been turnover-free in 15 of South Carolina’s 18 contests this season.
McDaniel’s shooting remains a work in progress, as she’s hitting just 31.3% from the floor compared to 50.0% last season. The Gamecocks would prefer improvement in that area, but her overall productivity—particularly her ball security and playmaking—keeps her on the floor regardless.
Against teams like Auburn that will apply full-court pressure and aggressive defense, McDaniel’s ability to protect the basketball becomes even more valuable.
4. Navigating the “As Easy As It Gets” Stretch
Calling any SEC stretch “easy” risks tempting fate, but South Carolina’s next three games—at Auburn, at Texas A&M, and home against Mississippi State—represent their most favorable sequence in conference play.
The three opponents rank among the six unranked SEC teams currently below .500 in league play. Texas A&M languishes alongside Arkansas as the conference’s worst team. However, Mississippi State ranks 34th in the NET rankings, and Auburn sits 67th—neither represents an automatic victory.
Staley’s emphasis during this stretch centers on what she calls “playing to the standard”—maintaining excellence regardless of opponent quality rather than playing down to competition level.
Coming off their best performance of the season against Vanderbilt, South Carolina’s coaching staff spent the week showing players film of what championship-level basketball looks like.
“Once you’ve seen it, and you’ve felt it, and you were a part of it, that becomes your standard,” Staley said. “Anytime that you outdo yourself or play to what you feel is your best basketball, it can recur. It doesn’t have to be the only time.”
The challenge is mental: Can South Carolina bring the same intensity against Auburn that they displayed against fifth-ranked Vanderbilt?
5. Respecting Auburn’s Overachievement Under Larry Vickers
Despite Auburn’s 13-8 record and 2-5 SEC mark, first-year coach Larry Vickers has executed one of the conference’s most impressive coaching jobs this season.
When Auburn fired Johnnie Harris, the program’s entire recruiting class decommitted, and nearly every significant player from the previous season transferred—many following Harris to Baylor, where he now serves as an assistant. Vickers was hired relatively late, limiting his ability to aggressively pursue transfer portal additions.
The result? Vickers assembled a roster that compensates for talent deficiencies through relentless effort. If South Carolina’s roster represents a “Who’s Who” of elite recruits and transfers, Auburn’s roster prompts the question: “Who?”
The Tigers feature players from six different countries and nine transfers. Leading scorer Harissoum Coulibaly averages 11.1 points despite starting just six games. Second-leading scorer Mya Petticord (9.7 PPG, 34.1% from three) was listed as questionable on the availability report, while reserve forward Clara Koulibaly is out.
Auburn compensates for limited offensive firepower by slowing tempo and playing suffocating defense. The Tigers hold opponents to an average of 10.1 points below their season average, with SEC opponents scoring 9.3 points below their typical output.
In Auburn’s two SEC victories, they allowed just 50 points to Florida and 54 to Alabama. Last weekend, the Tigers pushed Oklahoma—the team that handed South Carolina its most recent loss—before falling 73-65.
Staley recognizes both Auburn’s limitations and their dangerous competitiveness.
“I don’t think he has all his playbook in,” Staley said of Vickers. “I think he’s playing to the strength of his team, and they got some incredible athletes that like to fly around. They like to challenge you to keep them in front of them. So, it’s a game in which we have to control the paint, because they like to just put their heads down and go, and actually they have the personnel to do that.”
Staley anticipates Auburn will employ full-court pressure and aggressive rebounding.
“They’re pretty scrappy, so they’ll probably press us. They’ll probably go after every rebound,” she explained. “It’s an intangible type of game where their will, our will, and then all the things that you need to do to win basketball games.”
The Bottom Line
Thursday’s 9 p.m. ET tip on SEC Network represents South Carolina’s first opportunity to demonstrate whether their Vanderbilt performance established a sustainable standard or represented a one-time response to adversity.
Auburn may lack South Carolina’s talent, but Vickers has his team playing with the kind of scrappy determination that can exploit complacency. For the Gamecocks, the challenge isn’t just winning—it’s winning the right way, with the discipline and intensity that championship teams maintain regardless of opponent.
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