"She put a question mark on the board": Joyce Edwards and Maddy McDaniel reveal Dawn Staley's speech leading to South Carolina's explosive 2nd half

No. 2 South Carolina lit up the nets in the second half on Thursday night in an 82-26 win over Charleston Southern. And the Gamecocks have Dawn Staley to thank due to a question mark she left on the board at the halftime break.

The Gamecocks were winning when the first half came to a close, but it was only by 34-26. This had Staley take initiative by putting a question mark on the board which had players think about the level of their performance at that point of the game.

Joyce Edwards and Maddy McDaniel reflected on that moment after the game.

"She walked in ... and she put a question mark on the board," Edwards said.

"She's a player's coach, so she understands where we're coming from," McDaniel said.

Dawn Staley explains why she wrote the question mark

Because the players were asked about it, Dawn Staley would, of course, be prompted to explain why she wrote a question mark on the board. Her answer was clear, composed and calculated.

"I'm not gonna blow my top," Staley said. "I understand where they are and this type of game. I'm not making excuses for them.

"I mean, the question mark is (that) they leave you with a lot of questions. They force us to question their ability to lock in and be disciplined. They force us to have questions about who should play, who shouldn't play, all of these things. And it's just teaching moments."

The move worked wonders in the second half for the No. 2 Gamecocks. They put up 48 points in the last 20 minutes, holding the Buccaneers to 20 points in that same span as they cruised to an 82-46 blowout victory. South Carolina shot 46.0%, including 33.0% from beyond the arc, while limiting their opponents to 30.0% shooting, including 18.0% from downtown.

Joyce Edwards was the only player to score in double-digits for South Carolina, putting up 20 points and six rebounds on 6-of-9 shooting. Most of the players who played scored six or more points, while South Carolina was active on the glass as the team grabbed 40 rebounds.

Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks (11-1) have one more matchup to close out 2024, hosting Wofford at the Colonial Life Arena on Dec. 29 at 2 p.m. ET.