"They had their way with us, there's no trying to find a silver lining to it": Dawn Staley reacts to South Carolina's defensive collapse vs UConn

Dawn Staley's South Carolina Gamecocks didn’t look like themselves from the tip-off against the UConn Huskies, who had struggled against top-10 teams this season — until Sunday’s game. After trading baskets for the first six minutes, the Huskies went on a 9-0 run, and the Gamecocks never recovered.

The Gamecocks allowed UConn to score 45 points in the first half alone. Geno Auriemma’s team put up more than 20 points in each of the first three quarters and 17 in the final period. One of the key reasons for the Gamecocks’ defensive struggles was their inability to secure rebounds, allowing UConn to consistently grab offensive boards.

When asked about the Gamecocks’ issues in that statistical category, Staley pointed to another key factor while addressing her team’s defensive collapse.

"Here’s the thing — they shot 13 3s," Staley told reporters (2:40 onwards) after losing the game 87-58. "You hit 13 3s, and it’s damaging to your defense from both a physical and psychological standpoint.

"Then, the driving lanes open up because you’re sticking a little closer and you’re not in your gap. You’re not in your gap help. They made you think about all of those things, and they had their way with us. There’s no trying to find a silver lining to it — we got beat. We got beat bad."

One of the biggest offensive exploits came in the game from Huskies' Azzi Fudd who scored 28 points, shooting 11-for-22, including 6-for-10 from beyond the arc.

Breaking down South Carolina's defensive issues vs UConn

South Carolina’s defensive struggles stemmed from two key issues: poor perimeter defense and rebounding difficulties.

As Dawn Staley highlighted, the Huskies shot 13-of-28 (46.4%) from 3-point range, compared to South Carolina’s 3-of-17 (17.6%). UConn's outside shooting forced the Gamecocks to extend their defense, creating open driving lanes and easy scoring opportunities inside the paint.

Another area where the Gamecocks struggled was rebounding. UConn grabbed 48 total rebounds (including 15 offensive rebounds), compared to South Carolina’s 29. This allowed the Huskies to capitalize on second-chance opportunities.

"It’s hard when they shot as well as they shot and still got offensive rebounds," Staley said in her post game assessment. "We just had a major implosion. So you can pull out a lot of different stats, and they’re all going to end the same way — which is, we did not perform well in any area."

"At the end of the game, we were just trying to figure out, you know, if we see this team again, what can we do in certain situations? Certainly not from a defensive standpoint, but more so from an offensive standpoint."

The Gamecocks will need to go back to the drawing board, address their weaknesses, and ensure they don’t repeat their mistakes when they face unranked Arizona on Friday.