Dawn Staley’s No. 3 South Carolina Gamecocks dominated No. 9 TCU 85-52 on Sunday night in Fort Worth, Texas. Key to the blowout was the South Carolina defense holding TCU’s star center, Sedona Prince, to six points -- 13.4 points below her scoring average, and two rebounds.
The game marked TCU’s first loss after a 9-0 start, and fans expressed their disappointment online. Several criticized Prince’s inability to meet expectations in such a critical game.
"Sedona prince’s big clumsy ass."
"Also, Sedona Prince gotta be at least 40 by now," one fan said.
"How has Sedona Prince not figured out how to play basketball yet after her 92 years of eligibility," someone else said.
"Sedona Prince been playing college ball for 10 years & gave TCU nothing tonight," another fan's tweet read.
"SEDONA PRINCE HAS BEEN IN COLLEGE SINCE 2018?????" some other fan said.
The Horned Frogs had turned heads with their start, which included victories over two top 10 teams, North Carolina State and Notre Dame, with Prince and LSU transfer Hailey Van Lith leading the charge. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks' win improved their record to 9-1.
Dawn Staley’s blueprint for Sedona Prince’s performance
Ahead of the game, Dawn Staley shared her approach to handling TCU’s top players, particularly Sedona Prince. Staley outlined her plan to limit Prince’s influence and stifle TCU’s interior game during the postgame news conference.
She said, “(It’s) probably very different in that (we’ll) probably play some zone. There’s the bigs. ... You got to chop bigs down. You got to make them work for every catch, every touch over a 40-minute period."
She also added, "Our depth really has to have an impact on this particular game, so we’ll concentrate on doing that. But know that they have much more than Sedona Prince.”
On December 3rd, TCU's Sedona Prince was named the Big 12 Player of the Week, a recognition against No. 3 Notre Dame and USF. This marked the fourth time in her collegiate career that the 6-foot-7 center has earned this accolade.
Prince delivered a performance for the ages during TCU’s victory over No. 3 Notre Dame, recording 20 points, 20 rebounds, eight blocks, and four assists. Prince also became the first player to achieve 20 rebounds and eight blocks in a game against an AP Top Five team.
The Gamecocks will take a brief hiatus from their schedule this week as players focus on final exams. The Gamecocks will return to the court on Dec. 15, for a matchup against South Florida. The tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET in Columbia, South Carolina.
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