Youthful Gamecocks take refocused mindset into NCAA Tournament rematch with Tar Heels

Chloe Kitts, Raven Johnson and Kamilla Cardoso stood between coach Dawn Staley and the door of South Carolina’s locker room Saturday afternoon at Colonial Life Arena, using all three pairs of arms to form a make-shift hoop.

Ashlyn Watkins stood across from them, orange “Happy Birthday” balloon in hand (It wasn’t anyone’s birthday. Bree Hall accidentally bought the wrong-themed balloons for Senior Day in early March to decorate Te-Hina Paopao’s, Sakima Walker’s and Cardoso’s lockers. Now they’re just played with.)

Staley, in true competitive form, urged the sophomore forward to take it easy. March would be the worst time for Watkins to sustain an injury from locker room tomfoolery. But there was no way would Staley let Watkins dunk on her.

“Ashlyn, don’t get hurt,” Staley said with a smile, her voice booming over her team’s playful chatter. “Do not get hurt, Ash. I don’t play fair. Do not get hurt.”

Staley tried to bolt, but Kitts, Johnson and Cardoso ducked down to corral her with their arms. Watkins skipped into frame and slammed the balloon over Staley’s head. It hit the rim (er, the spot where Johnson’s and Cardoso’s arms met) and bounced out.

As the balloon floated through the air, Staley tried swatting at it and missed. Kitts lifted her hands to grab it back, ultimately sending the balloon up to a light, where it popped. And Staley gracefully made her exit with a smile plastered all over her face.

This is the youth and exuberance Staley has talked about all year. At first, and still at times, it’s a frustrating dynamic for USC’s coaches to work with. But they’ve accepted this is who their players are. And the players view their vibrance, their camaraderie as the key to their success.

“We’ve built a family over here,” Kitts said. “We all just love each other. And that helps so much on the court. Because if you love who you play with and you love who you’re friends with, then it just all goes together.”

The Gamecocks were one sleep away from their second-round NCAA Tournament game against the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels — a team they squeaked by with a seven-point victory in November. Youth got the better of South Carolina last time these two teams met. Staley said afterward they didn’t “meet the moment” in the first half.

“You really saw how young we are,” she said.

Four months and 27 games have passed since then. Mention that to MiLaysia Fulwiley, and she’ll tell you it feels like longer. Not in a bad way, though. This team has been through a lot.

“Just seeing each other grow, celebrating each other’s birthdays, making memories that are going to last forever, a lifetime,” Fulwiley said. “... It’s definitely been a journey, but a long time”

The vibes on the bench during Friday’s 91-39 victory over No. 16 Presbyterian were good. Teammates laughed and smiled with each other as the clock ticked down on their 50-point victory. Their bond is apparent during games through moments like this and, of course, the teamwork it takes to go undefeated. While Staley has accepted the group’s fun-loving personality, there are still times where she has to shake them into seriousness.

“They live in the moment,” Staley said. “And it’s great because I live in a moment. If something’s funny, I’m gonna laugh. But I can flip it, like, right there because we’ve got to get back to what’s important. They haven’t quite mastered that part of it.”

“She’s reminding us all the time, like, ‘Do you guys understand what we’re trying to do?’ ” Fulwiley said. “And we’ll just sit there and listen to her, and we’ll be like, ‘Yeah.’ And she’s like, ‘Well, I can’t tell. It’s gonna be really hard to win a national championship (like this).’ I think she just put that in our heads, so it brought out our competitiveness.”

To win a national championship, South Carolina must first get past UNC on Sunday. Yes, the Gamecocks know each other better now than they did back in November, but they also know the Tar Heels better. Last time, North Carolina was aggressive from the jump. This time, that’s what South Carolina aims to do.

“We knew (last time) they played hard,” Kitts said. “But it’s different knowing something and then going into it. So I just feel like it’s nice that we played them already, and we know that we need to play better than last game.”

South Carolina WBB’s next game

Who: No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 8 North Carolina

When: Sunday, 1 p.m.

TV: ABC

Stream: ESPN app