Dawn Staley explains why Sania Feagin played over Joyce Edwards, Chloe Kitts in the 4Q of Texas loss

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley explained her decision to use Sania Feagin in the fourth quarter of its 66-62 loss to Texas on Sunday. The three-time national champion coach used Feagin to put a body on 6-foot-6 Longhorns forward/center, opting for her over Chloe Kitts and Joyce Edwards in the fourth quarter.

Staley believed Feagin could guard Oldacre down the stretch, so she stuck to her plan.

"Sania's the only one that can guard her (Oldacre) like halfway guard her," Dawn Staley said [1:36]. "We give up too much when Chloe or Joyce are on her. Could have tried Dell (Adhel Tac) but they're just not experienced enough."

Oldacre played off the bench and finished with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting. She grabbed six rebounds — four from the offensive glass — and tallied one assist, two steals and one block in 21 minutes.

South Carolina lost for the second time this season and both of them against teams with 6-6 and 6-7 players. In their first loss against UCLA, the Gamecocks were manhandled by 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts, who produced 11 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.

And in the defeat to Texas, Oldacre willed her way inside, using her height to manhandle her smaller South Carolina foes. The strategy worked for coach Vic Schaefer, as this eased the burden from top producers Madison Booker and 6-foot-4 Taylor Jones.

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Kyla Oldacre-Taylor Jones combo too much for South Carolina

Texas took advantage of South Carolina's small ball-heavy rotation by using Taylor Jones and Kyla Oldacre to clog the middle on defense. Jones and Oldacre combined for six steals and two blocks.

The duo combined for 24 points to help leading scorer Madison Booker carry the load for Texas. Dawn Staley had no remedy to Vic Schaefer's lengthy lineup, as her frontline was halted by the taller Texas crew.

The departure of 6-foot-7 Kamilla Cardoso proved to be too big for South Carolina to overcome as they were reduced to a smaller lineup. Its bigs, Adhel Tac and Maryam Dauda, weren't used in longer stretches due to inexperience, forcing Staley to resolve to using Ashlyn Watkins as center early in the season.

However, Watkins fell to an ACL tear, forcing Dawn Staley to depend on Sania Feagin, Chloe Kitts and Joyce Edwards to man the middle. South Carolina can still contend deeper into the NCAA Tournament. However, they could also fall prey to a team that maximizes its height.