Back in 2008 when Dawn Staley joined the South Carolina Gamecocks as their head coach, she entered a program that was barely in any conversation. In recent years then, they had no conference championship, no regular season title, and no NCAA appearance. However, as is the case with this architect of a head coach, she built the program into a powerhouse that we know today with her standout players at the helm.

Her first super star? A’ja Wilson. The center took the program to its second Sweet-16 under Staley and brought in their first regular season win as a freshman, wrapping up her career with four consecutive regular season, conference wins, and a national title. After her, it was Aliyah Boston who won successfully carried the torch and brought in another Natty for Dawn. And then, it was Kamilla Cardoso.

If you know Staley’s program, her deep roster standouts live in the paint, anchoring the team’s defense as much as they dominate the offense. But there has always been that one go-getter. Wilson, Boston, or Cardoso, always someone who ensures that a possession is turned into a bucket. That’s how Staley has brought in three championships in her reign already. However, although they are in their fifth consecutive Final Four, they don’t have a superstar to carry the team on their shoulder. So, is this a trouble for Dawn that could help Texas HC Vic Schaefer? A national reporter has the answer.

Meghan McKeown of NBC Sports thinks she’s found the reason the Gamecocks haven’t looked as dominant this season. She said, “Look at South Carolina. I mean, you’ve got so much depth. What’s interesting about them is they don’t necessarily have that go-to, huge player that we’ve seen in the past before. So does that matter when you get to this stage of the tournament? Like does it matter that you don’t necessarily have that consistent, ‘I know I can get the ball to somebody and they’re just going to go get me a bucket?'”

Although their roster is stacked with All-Americans this year, there are many pieces in play this time with no one stellar player in the locker room. Their top two leading scorers, Joyce Edwards (12.7 PPG) and MiLaysia Fulwiley (11.9 PPG), come off the bench, showcasing their depth but also underscoring the absence of a dominant starter. This is a heavy contrast from last year’s Kamilla Cardoso, who led the team averaging 14.4 PPG, 9.7 rpg, and 2.5 blocks as a senior.

Now, there are five names for five leading categories with no such impressive numbers as seen before. This was on full display in their win over Duke last round when the Blue Devils took away much of what South Carolina loves to do, focusing on limiting the Gamecocks’ top two scorers, Joyce Edwards (4 points) and MiLaysia Fulwiley (5 points).

Up stepped Chloe Kitts and Sania Feagin. They combined for 26 points and helped the Gamecocks dance forward. But can the depth keep dragging South Carolina to another championship? Having an outright best player always comes in handy. The Gamecocks don’t have that this season, and this can certainly come in handy for Texas coach, Vic Schaefer.

This season hasn’t been a smooth ride South Carolina fans got used to last year. A perfect record on the way to a third championship? You can’t repeat that every season. And in this year’s Big Dance, the Gamecocks have had to fight for it with their average margin of victory in the last three games being just 6.3 points with only the first-round win over Tennessee Tech coming at a tremendous 108-48.

But coach Dawn Staley is confident of marching forward. Let’s see what she has to say about facing a familiar foe in Texas.

Dawn Staley confident of beating Texas

South Carolina and Texas have met thrice this season already. The Gamecocks lead the series 2-1 which includes the SEC tournament championship game victory as well. They have lost by a close margin of just 4 points but won by an average of 18 points, showing that the Gamecocks have an edge. South Carolina knows how to beat Texas, and Dawn Staley is confident ahead of their clash but is also aware that there are some issues to fix.

“Considering we play either Texas or TCU… If it’s Texas, we’re gonna muck it up, just like we do in the Southeastern Conference… I just hope that we can get our offense going a little bit. We can’t seem to just play a little bit more fluidly. I thought we played with a lot better pace than we did on Friday. So the pace will help some. But when you have two teams that really defend, it’s going to look like that. I thought both of us accomplished what we needed to accomplish while trying to get a win.”

The two teams will clash again on Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern time. According to ESPN, South Carolina has a 62.4% chance of dancing their way to another championship game. But will that be the case on Friday? Or will the absence of a true superstar come back to haunt the Gamecocks? Stay tuned for more updates!