“They did a very good at job at pressuring us”: $12 million worth Dawn Staley gives Missouri their flowers

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley praised Robin Pingeton and the Missouri Tigers for adequately contesting the Gamecocks on Thursday. The championship-defending coach's comments came after the MU's first-half efforts caught her team off-guard.

$12 million worth (as per Celebrity Net Worth) Staley commended Robin Pingeton's crew for detouring from their usual tactics to navigate through the Gamecocks and pressuring them differently. By citing that the program usually relies on forcing USC to take 3-pointers, she highlighted the Tigers' approach to defense and physicality in the latest contest.

"It takes an adjustment when you play Missouri," Dawn Staley said on Friday (0:52). "I thought they did a really good job at pressuring us and being physical with us and making it hard for us to catch. A lot different than what they normally do which is just kind of sit back and force us to take outside shots.

"So, I thought they played well against us in the first half. I mean were we expecting it, yes, probably a little bit more pressure than they have that's what they've shown all season long."

Missouri scored an even 26 points in both halves at Mizzou Arena. The program also switched its offensive approach against the Gamecocks.

In the Tigers' last two contests against South Carolina (2023-24), the program shot at least 25 3-pointers. Whereas, MU only took 16 shots from beyond the arc in Thursday's contest.

Dawn Staley praises Mississippi State before Sunday's matchup

The Gamecocks will face the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Sunday before heading back home. MSU is coming off a loss to the Kentucky Wildcats (91-69), resulting in its second loss of the season.

However, Dawn Staley praised the program's ability to fill up the scoresheet before the contest.

"Probably everybody losing if Kentucky makes as many threes as they made," Staley said (4:05). "Formidable opponent, they still score seven something points, so they can score it."

"They are coached well, they are very calculated in what they want from an offensive standpoint. Defensively they're a little stingy, I think it's going to be a wheels of discipline for us and what we need to do to continue to get another road win on in our conference."

South Carolina will host Texas A&M for its first game back home on Wednesday. Dawn Staley's crew will then face five ranked opponents in back-to-back contests in January; Texas Longhorns (#5), Alabama Crimson Tide (#19), Oklahoma (#9), LSU Tigers (#6) and Tennessee (#16).