No school, no stress, no problems.
South Carolina women’s basketball returned from its final exams break and immediately shook off the rust by dusting Presbyterian 99-29 at Colonial Life Arena in the final home game of the calendar year. It was South Carolina’s (10-0) 48th consecutive home win overall, and brought the Gamecocks within two games of the start of SEC play with just road trips to Bowling Green and East Carolina remaining before the page flips.
Presbyterian (8-4) had the tightest turnaround possible after hosting South Carolina State Friday night, and the extra 40 minutes on their legs did no favors early as the Gamecocks ran roughshod in transition.
MiLaysia Fulwiley — who started at point guard in Raven Johnson’s place as she was given the day off for rest — hit two deep 3-pointers on consecutive first half possessions to help her team open up a 13-point lead before four minutes were even off the clock. It was another typical day of highlights for the freshman sensation, from a sneaky reverse layup early to a smooth hop-step leading into a bucket beating the first-half buzzer. She filled up the stat sheet again with a career-high tying 18 points, four steals and three blocks.
"I just realized I was turning over the ball a lot and not being very disciplined on defense," Fulwiley said. "I feel like I was just a little more disciplined in this game, knowing when to hard defend, when to overly defend and when to settle down."
Even on a day where the high-flying offense knocked in 10 3-pointers from five different players and seven scored in double-figures, defense went under the microscope with Fulwiley leading the way.
South Carolina prevented the visitors from making a field goal for over nine minutes to start the second quarter, and then started another streak of over six minutes holding Presbyterian off the scoreboard entirely to open the second half.
It turned into a block party as the second half proceeded, most notably when a thunderous Ashlyn Watkins swat landed nearly behind the Presbyterian bench midway through the fourth quarter.
"She had me at first," Watkins smiled. "And I was like, 'okay, fine, let me get that.'"
In fact it was the greatest blocking day in program history, with the 17 rejections tying the all-time program record. On top of that the defense racked up 14 steals, with all but two players recording at least one swipe.
It has been a constant emphasis for Dawn Staley's team as the meat of the schedule. Defensive rotations and communications were always going to take a step back with so many new faces and linger as a sticking point for growth. Presbyterian might not be the truest benchmark of growth, but it was the fourth time holding an opponent under 40 after letting in over 70 in each of the first two contests.
"Individuals are getting better in their effort," Staley said about the defense. "And then collectively, I just feel like they are trusting each other a lot more. So that's always a good sign, but we also still have to do it and do it well and consecutively once we get into conference play.
"We've got a game on Tuesday and we've got a game when we come back from Christmas, but we certainly are trending in the right direction."
The Gamecocks will pay former assistant coach Fred Chmiel a visit on Tuesday with a trip to Bowling Green tipping off at 7 p.m. ET.
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