Dawn Staley asks Joyce Edwards to move on and "turn the page" after South Carolina suffers shock Texas defeat

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley asked freshman forward Joyce Edwards to move on from the 66-62 loss the Gamecocks suffered against the Texas Longhorns on Sunday.

The three-time national champion bench tactician said so during the media availability session on Wednesday ahead of South Carolina's next game against Florida.

Edwards, the No. 2-ranked freshman in the Class of 2024 behind UConn forward Sarah Strong (per 247 Sports), is the team's leading scorer this season, averaging 12.2 points per game.

However, she was limited to nine points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line in the Gamecocks' previous outing against Texas. She also had two rebounds and one steal in 18 minutes, which is below her averages of 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals per contest.

Dawn Staley was asked about the freshman regarding her rare off-nights and how she thinks about the response Edwards would make in the next game. The coach's response was simple: move on and turn the page.

"You got to be able to turn the page Most great players, they turn the page a lot quicker than others," Staley told Edwards during the practice session. (2:29).

"That's what makes them great. That's what makes them pros. So here is an opportunity for Joyce to just learn to turn the page."

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Dawn Staley looks to fix things immediately after rare defeats

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley believes that she doesn't need to dwell on the previous losses for a long period. She noted that the loss to Texas had a minor effect on the team's mentality because it's not common for the team to lose two games in a season.

The last time the Gamecocks suffered two losses in a season was in 2021-22 where they went 35-2 en route their second national title. Staley treated the loss to Texas as an anomaly and pledged to fix it immediately.

"We got to figure out what (part of the loss) was self-inflicted. What the opponent forced us to do. What's the anomaly of it," Dawn Staley said (3:49). "And then try to fix it all at once. I think for us we just need to get back confident and doing things the way we need to do things."

The No. 4-ranked Gamecocks (22-2, 10-1) are highly favored to win against Florida (12-12, 3-7) on Thursday night at the Colonial Life Arena as the Gators lost to No. 23 Alabama 84-66 in its last game on Feb. 6.