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What Dawn Staley likes about No. 1 South Carolina’s identity before showdown vs No. 3 USC

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CLEMSON — South Carolina women’s basketball won comfortably against Clemson to earn its 16th straight victory over its in-state rival, but the Gamecocks didn’t play their best game.

No. 1 South Carolina (3-0) took down the Tigers (3-1) 65-44 on Nov. 12.

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The Gamecocks made just 3 of 11 3-point shots, committed 18 turnovers and missed 13 of 29 free-throw attempts. South Carolina won anyway, though, heading into a marquee matchup against No. 3 Southern Cal (3-0) on Nov. 15 (1 p.m., ABC) in Greenville.

Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley was asked if South Carolina had potentially overlooked Clemson with a top-3 showdown looming. Staley insisted that wasn’t the case.

“I think it was Clemson mucking things up,” Staley said. “We’re gonna get everybody’s best, and we know that. Everybody’s, whether we have that No. 1 by our name or not. We’ve had success over the past couple of years, and people circle when we play them on the calendar.”

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South Carolina women’s basketball vs Clemson, see top photos of Dawn Staley, Joyce Edwards

South Carolina Gamecocks forward Joyce Edwards (8) and South Carolina Gamecocks guard Jordan Lee (7) box out Clemson Tigers forward Edie Clarke (7) during the NCAA women’s basketball game Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026 at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina.

(Alex Martin/Greenville News)

The Tigers were indeed mucking things up in the first half. Clemson played enough stingy first-half defense to hang around, make the game competitive and trail only 30-21 by halftime.

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South Carolina pulled away in the second half. The Gamecocks didn’t allow the Tigers to score a basket in the third quarter and outscored them 21-7. South Carolina made more shots after halftime and went 46.2% from the field in the second half.

What Dawn Staley, Chloe Kitts said about South Carolina’s identity so far

Staley believes the Gamecocks’ second-half improvements show that they’re beginning to form an identity for this season.

“It starts with our defense,” Staley said. “We know that this early stage of the game is – it’s hard to find that continuity and where people like the ball, but our defense is holding serve, and we’re finding a way to win basketball games.”

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Staley said the Gamecocks’ defense came from good coverage, communication and “cover-ups” when Clemson set screens. She also believes South Carolina’s defense is “a lot more advanced than most at this stage” of the season.

Gamecocks forward Chloe Kitts, who had 12 points and 12 rebounds for her second straight double-double, said something similar.

“I feel like we’re getting better at communicating, and then our rotations, and then that comes from practice,” Kitts said. “Every day, our coaches tell us that we need to do this, and we come in and execute. But we can always do better.”

The Gamecocks won the rebounding battle, but only slightly at 40 to 38. Staley would’ve liked to see that be better, but said that had to do with the Tigers having a good strategy for rebounding.

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“They had a really good game plan,” Staley said. “They didn’t really go after offensive rebounds. They got back in transition to try to stop our early scores, and it really paid off for them.”

Another way South Carolina’s 2026-27 identity is taking shape is how well their players are already gelling. Kitts said she’s already comfortable with “pouring into” all of her teammates, and that they take each other’s critiques and criticism well.

Kitts gave freshman guard Jerzy Robinson her own shoutout for not being afraid to speak up.

“Jerzy, before the game, she always tells me to be me,” Kitts said. “That’s nice to hear, especially from a freshman, that leadership that she’ll be able to grow into.”

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South Carolina could’ve played better, but it earned a rivalry win and ended the game on a high note with second-half improvements. For Staley, that’s a mark of a good team heading into the Southern Cal game.

“They’re listening. They want to do better, and they want to do well and they want to execute,” Staley said. “We got enough in the locker room, enough experienced players in the locker room, to help us accomplish that.”

Nick Coppola covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA Today Network. Email him at ncoppola@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @Nick_Coppola__ and like his Facebook page at Nick Coppola, Clemson Sports.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: What Dawn Staley likes about No. 1 South Carolina’s identity before showdown vs No. 3 USC

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com

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