On an 11-game winning streak, Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks seem en route to repeating their last season’s heroics. Save for the stinging loss to UCLA, South Carolina takes its top spot in the SEC, maintaining a good second in the NET rankings. But as always, challenges loom, with Coach Dawn Staley painting a picture of the results of letting their guard down.

Speaking in the postgame conference, Staley spoke about the toughness that the gamecocks showed in securing a 67-50 win over the No.5 Texas Longhorns. Remaining undefeated in the SEC and improving their overall to 16-1, the HC called it a ‘successful’ year. “We have been a great rebounding team. That’s one. We have been a efficient field goal, shooting team,” she makes clear.

In a highly anticipated SEC matchup, they would shoot an impressive 51% from the field while limiting their opponents to a mere 27.8%. It was no different beyond the arc as they posted 42.% when the Longhorns could only make 1 of their 5 attempts. It reflects in their 47.15 field goal average this season. But while the game was a good show of both offense and defense, digging deep, Staley notes the Gamecocks’ Achilles’ heel.

“But giving up 20 offensive rebounds will kill you, probably any other nights besides today,” she says, speaking of the better averages on the NCAA table. The Gamecocks average 43.6 rebounds, but it only places them 11th in the national standings. However, as she notes, it was a better show of toughness and the will to play through it that really landed them on the winning side tonight.

Chole Kitts was the star for SC once again tonight, with 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. Te-Hina Paopao matched the score, providing the crucial offensive support. Freshman Joyce Edwards followed with 10 points coming off the bench, but Sanaya Fagan took the cake with an all-around performance. The senior forward scored 8 points, 9 rebounds, and a career-high 6 blocks. While a team performance to the T, Dawn Staley isn’t letting her guard down.

“This league will tell us who we are. It will define who we are,” she says with about a month and a half left to the tournament. Rightly so, for the Gamecocks’ weakness wasn’t just evident to the head coach.

Long-time rival points out Dawn Staley’s concern, time to pull up the socks

Dawn Staley and Texas HC Vic Schaefer have faced each other 17 times so far. They seem to have developed a keen eye for the other’s games by now, as evident from Staley previously raising caution over her opponent’s habit to dominate the paint. Schaefer has reciprocated, noting Gamecocks’ strengths and frustrations from their recent game.

“They’re challenging every shot – that’s part of a great defensive team,” he says. However, their lacking rebounding efforts wasn’t lost on him. “We had 14 more offensive rebounds, we forced 22 turnovers, and we got beat (by) 17,” he adds. The SEC is one of the toughest conferences in college basketball, with powerhouses like LSU, Tennessee, and Kentucky always eyeing for the top spot. South Carolina’s recent struggles could give these rival teams an opening to capitalize on.

They face another ranked team next, Alabama, who has four players averaging more than ten points per game. With strong guards to body up there, Dawn Staley & Co. might want to revisit their defense.