"She makes a living off of making bad shots": Dawn Staley gets real on MiLaysia Fulwiley after South Carolina's Sweet 16 win

South Carolina star MiLaysia Fulwiley led the No. 1-seeded Gamecocks to a thrilling 71-67 win over the No. 4-seeded Maryland Terrapins on Friday evening. Fulwiley tallied 23.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 21 minutes of action.

During her postgame conference, the ever-supportive Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley got real on why she berated the talented guard during the third quarter (11:32).

"When I get on Lay, it's more of, does she take bad shots? Yes," Dawn Staley said. "I mean, she makes a living off of making bad shots. Which is good. Everyone's not capable of doing that. You can take bad shots and never make the bad shots. She makes them.

"I just like when you take the bad shots or if you miss a bad shot, that you get back on defense and you execute like you need to execute. So she was dying on screens a little bit and the guards were posting her up and she was allowing direct entry passes into her player."

Dawn Staley outlines trust in MiLaysia Fulwiley

Despite mostly playing most of her minutes off the bench this season, MiLaysia Fulwiley has still been one of the Gamecocks' most productive players. She has averaged 11.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists this season and is only behind talented freshman Joyce Edwards in terms of points scored.

In South Carolina's win against the Indiana Hoosiers on Sunday, Fulwiley played only 10 minutes, and coach Dawn Staley revealed it was because the team did not need her much that night.

After scoring 16.0 of her 23.0 points in the second half against the Maryland Terrapins to book the Gamecocks' sixth consecutive Elite Eight appearance, Staley admitted that her team would have lost the game were it not for the confident MiLaysia Fulwiley's performance.

"When you have a dynamic player like MiLaysia, you put the ball in her hands and you allow her to just create her magic," Staley said.

"We probably would have lost the game because she was the only one that could really manufacture our shots and make baskets," Staley said. "But she just wants to win. I think in those moments is when I feel like I can coach her the most, where she'll listen the most ... she took it and found a way to really respond," Staley said. "I'm most proud of that."

Next up for MiLaysia Fulwiley and the South Carolina Gamecocks is a tough game against the No. 2-seeded Duke Blue Devils in the Elite Eight as they continue their quest for a repeat national championship.