"Continuing to knock the dust off": Dawn Staley gets real on freshman Adhel Tac's breakout game vs. Missouri

Dawn Staley and the No. 2 South Carolina Gamecocks began SEC play with a dominant 83-52 win over the Missouri Tigers on Thursday. They saw a standout performance from Adhel Tac, a freshman who's been looking for her chance to shine with the program.

In less than five minutes of action on the court, Tac put up nine points and six rebounds on 3-of-5 shooting from the field. Staley reflected on Tac's showing after the game:

"What's truly impressive about Adhel is she doesn't know whether she's going to play or not, but when her number's called, she gets in and she was more intentional last night about just making her presence felt on, you know, definitely offensively, defensively, it's getting better. We have to really understand that she really hasn't played in two years. So she's continuing to knock the dust off. She looked great," Dawn Staley said.

Why Dawn Staley, South Carolina are high on Ahdel Tac

It may have been Adhel Tac's ninth appearance, but what she showed throughout her limited time on the hardwood against Missouri is the main reason why Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks recruited her out of high school.

However, she was away from the game for two years due to a severe injury she suffered in her senior year at South Grand Prairie High School.

Before the injury, Tac averaged 14.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game as a junior during the 2021-22 campaign as she helped her team to a runner-up finish in the Class 6A state championship. She was regarded as a top 30 prospect before doing an early enrollment at South Carolina in January 2024.

Whether Staley will increase Tac's minutes for conference play remains to be seen. However, her ability to score and rebound the ball in a short amount of time presents a new idea for the head coach to utilize if her primary game plan is not working in certain games.

Dawn Staley and the No. 2 Gamecocks will look to keep their winning streak going when they play Mississippi State at the Humphrey Coliseum on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.