Unfazed Dawn Staley plans to use South Carolina's "tough" schedule to their advantage

The defending national champion South Carolina Gamecocks will have a challenging set of conference games ahead of them to round out January. On Thursday, coach Dawn Staley and her players will duke it out at the No. 19 Alabama Crimson Tide and then host the No. 13 Oklahoma Sooners on Sunday.

Following the home game, they will have their toughest matchup yet in the No. 5-ranked LSU Tigers, who are considered by many to be their budding SEC rival as both programs have combined to win the last three national titles — 2024 and 2022 for Staley and company 2023 for LSU.

The Gamecocks (16-1, 4-0 Southeastern Conference), which is 5-1 against ranked teams this season, started their run of five games against ranked teams with a 67-50 win over then-No. 5 Texas on Sunday.

To cap off the first month of conference play, they'll then visit the Tennessee Volunteers on Jan. 27.

Even with the tough schedule ahead of them, Staley affirms that they will be using it to their advantage. During media availability before their Jan. 16 game, she talked about how the upcoming slate of games can help them get better toward their goal of a national championship repeat this year.

"We use it to our advantage by playing a lot of players," Staley said (Timestamp: 0:30). "They all deserve to be on the floor. Some of them that don't play deserves a little bit more. It helps in the whole longevity of a season. This stretch that we're in right now, it's tough.

"Doing a stretch like this of conference play is about trusting your team. It's about trusting your habits that you've built, and we've been able to do that for most of the season."

In their pursuit of reclaiming the national championship, the Gamecocks will be tested in the slew of hotly contested conference matchups.

Dawn Staley is banking on her team's habits to stop the Alabama Crimson Tide

When asked what can make her nervous against the Alabama Crimson Tide, Dawn Staley discussed what Alabama's strengths are, but said one factor they'll focus on and how they plan to execute it.

"They can shoot the ball. If they're allowed to make what they comfortably take each game, we're in trouble," Staley said (Timestamp: 2:40). "(Their arena is) a hard place to play as well. So, for us, it's just our habits. It's packing our habits and, hopefully, guard the 3-point line and the paint."

The Crimson Tide averages 38.0% from the 3-point arc this 2024-2025 season. If Staley can have her players halt the Alabama scoring barrage, then they may see their win streak extend to 12.