Is MiLaysia Fulwiley playing tonight? Exploring South Carolina guard's status for Arkansas clash (Feb 20)

MiLaysia Fulwiley is a spark plug off the bench for the No. 6 South Carolina Gamecocks. The Columbia-born guard rarely features from the start, but due to her unique skill set, she's a key part of the team's offensive identity. The Gamecocks are well-placed for a spot in the covered March Madness tourney and are set to face off against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Thursday.

Is MiLaysia Fulwiley playing tonight?

MiLaysia Fulwiley is set to play in tonight's game against the Arkansas Razorbacks. The sophomore guard isn't currently dealing with lingering injuries, so she should be able to feature from the bench in tonight's matchup, barring any unforeseen setbacks.

Fulwiley is one of six players to feature in all 26 games for the Gamecocks this season, and is averaging 11.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.4 steals in 18.9 minutes per game.

What can you expect from MiLaysia Fulwiley vs Arkansas?

MiLaysia Fulwiley will likely come off the bench against the Arkansas Razorbacks in a game that could get out of hand quickly. The Gamecocks are expected to put up a lot of points against a 9-18 Arkansas side coming off an 89-50 defeat to Ole Miss, and enter the game as overwhelming favorites.

Fulwiley has been South Carolina's primary bench scorer since he joined the team in 2023 and has a versatile skill set, contributing all over the court. She was particularly effective in last year's SEC tournament, earning MVP honors.

The Gamecocks will look to utilize Fulwiley's range of talents against the Razorbacks, which follows South Carolina's painful 87-58 defeat against the UConn Huskies. That loss is expected to fuel the Gamecocks into a much-improved performance, which HC Dawn Staley touched upon when speaking to reporters on Wednesday:

"I think we do our best work when we are in this type of situation," Staley said. "We're going to embrace the loss, learn from it and move on."

Staley also said the Gamecocks need to get back to playing their own game:

"The common theme is we just didn't play like a resemblance of who we are," Staley said of the recent losses. "Whether it was people forced us to play that way or self-inflicted, it really just wasn't us. We've got to get back to us.

"You take a loss, and you have a tendency to think that everything's broken," she said. "Everything's not broken. It really isn't. We've just got to get back to our good habits playing the way we need to play."

The Gamecocks have four more games to play before the end of the regular season, with those being against the Razorbacks, Vanderbilt Commodores, Ole Miss Rebels, and Kentucky Wildcats. While the Wildcats are the only side currently ranked in the Top 25, each of their opponents is a potential banana skin in the lead-up to March Madness.

It will be interesting to see if South Carolina can get back to playing their own game on Thursday and whether they can so easily put the UConn defeat behind them.