No. 1 South Carolina women’s basketball lost for the first time since 2023, and right after setting a new program record of 43 straight wins.
Leading by as many as 23 at one point, No. 6 UCLA defeated the Gamecocks 77-62 on Sunday in Pauley Pavilion.
Bad habits that have haunted the Gamecocks (5-1) through six games this season like poor shooting and a bad first quarter were present in the loss to the Bruins (5-0).
The loss was the Gamecocks’ first since March 31, 2023, when South Carolina lost to Caitlin Clark and Iowa, 77-73, in the 2023 Women’s Final Four.
South Carolina hasn’t found an offensive identity yet this season, and has players who are too valuable to score so low.
The Gamecocks have only played one game this season where they didn’t come out slow in the opening quarter, which was against East Carolina on Nov. 17.
Against UCLA, they missed their first nine shots, and didn’t score 4:55 left in the first quarter, trailing 15-2 in a matter of minutes. Instead of putting an emphasis on coming out strong in the first 10 minutes, it allowed old habits to linger, which became detrimental.
It looked like the Gamecocks were trying to do too much alone on an offensive possession. Whether that was Raven Johnson dribbling for too long into traffic or MiLaysia Fulwiley driving, then elevating with no pass option and turning the ball over twice, likely the reason she played just three minutes all game.
Lauren Betts, a 6-foot-7 center for the Bruins averaging 21.5 points so far, was held to 11 points. But the guards around her took advantage of every defender double-teaming the paint. Junior guard Londynn Jones had 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting from 3-point range.
With 7:49 to play in the final quarter, junior forward Ashlyn Watkins blocked Betts, but without a defender on her, made a bad outlet pass to Tessa Johnson, giving the ball back to UCLA. The play was representative of the game as a whole. South Carolina does a nice job defending the star but can’t do anything on offense afterwards.
Te-Hina Paopao had a team-high 18 points, with Tessa Johnson’s 14 right behind but they were the only two to score over eight points. Johnson hit a jumper with 1:20 in the first quarter then on the next play, was wide open in the corner calling, then clapping for the ball from Paopao. She eventually got it, and hit the 3-pointer over Betts, pushing the deficit to only eight.
Quality shots from players besides Johnson and Pao were few and far between, and even when Chloe Kitts or Sania Feagin got a clean look in the paint, they missed the layup.
Starting point guard Raven Johnson scored under five points for the fifth time this season, finishing with three points and two turnovers. Starting guard Bree Hall had just three and Kitts, who had three straight 14-plus performances, finished with four points Wednesday and two Sunday.
Last season, Kamilla Cardoso led the team in scoring, and shot 60% from the field. Staley said in September, everyone’s role will increase to fill her void. With the exception of Paopao, no guard is stepping up consistently to score, and three of Staley’s starters aren’t scoring enough to beat quality opponents.
South Carolina made 24-of-66 attempts from the field on Sunday. The team has shot above 50% from the floor once this season.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
