Gamecocks women’s basketball is hopeful it will finally have its full complement of players available as the team travels to Florida for a two-game weekend stretch.
All 10 available scholarship players participated in the portion of Wednesday’s practice that was open to the media, offering an encouraging sign. Still, head coach Dawn Staley emphasized that nothing is guaranteed until game day arrives.
“You’ve got to see how they wake up tomorrow,” Staley said. “So we’ll see.”
Through 11 games this season, availability has been a persistent challenge for the Gamecocks. The team has opened only four games with all 10 players dressed and has finished just three contests at full strength.
Freshman Agot Makeer has been sidelined since the Texas game while going through concussion protocol. Although she returned to practice last week and went through pregame warmups before the Penn State matchup, the coaching and medical staffs ultimately decided to hold her out as a precaution against further injury.
Madina Okot has also been dealing with health issues. She missed the second half of the NC Central game due to illness and, like Makeer, warmed up ahead of the Penn State contest but did not play. Following that game, Staley described both players as “day-to-day.”
“We’re not going to force them to make things worse,” Staley said. “I think we’re very conscious. I think we’re super conservative. And I don’t have a say in it. I get a report every day, and the report is that we’re going to continue, but they’re not there yet. They do some things in practice, and they’re not there yet. So we’ll just, you know, adhere to what they’re telling us, and if we get them back, it’s going to help us. If we don’t, we’ve just got to keep moving forward.”
Illness has been a recurring theme. Against NC Central, Tessa Johnson missed her first game of the season due to sickness. Okot was also unable to continue after halftime, prompting Staley to note afterward, “It’s going around.”
Roster challenges for South Carolina began well before the season tipped off. In July, Ashlyn Watkins announced she would sit out the year, reducing the roster to 11 players. Then, just weeks before the opener, Chloe Kitts suffered a torn ACL, ending her season and shrinking the roster to 10 — a thin margin for a program accustomed to deep rotations.
The injury and illness issues continued into the preseason and early schedule. Ayla McDowell missed the exhibition against North Carolina with an illness. Maddy McDaniel exited the season opener against Grand Canyon after a knee collision and went on to miss the next four games due to injury and a suspension.
Makeer was forced out early in the Bowling Green game after being stepped on, leaving the Gamecocks with only eight players that night. Although she returned for the Clemson game, she has since missed the last two contests while in concussion protocol.
The situation reached its lowest point during the NC Central game. With Makeer already unavailable and Johnson unable to play due to illness, Okot exited just minutes before halftime. While she returned to the bench after an extended break, she did not reenter the game, leaving South Carolina with only seven available players.
Throughout the stretch, Staley has emphasized a mindset focused solely on who is available, rather than who is missing — a message she continually reinforces with her team.
“I only see what’s in front of us. So we had eight today. I only see eight,” Staley said. “We got reduced to seven, I only see seven. We’re going to play the hand that we’re dealt to the best of our ability. We can worry about whatever, whenever. But for me, whoever’s healthy, let us know who’s healthy, and then we can take it from there.”
