Meet The Opponent: Indiana Gets Another Crack At South Carolina In NCAA Tournament

Indiana’s women’s basketball meets the South Carolina team that eliminated the Hoosiers from the NCAA Tournament in 2024.

South Carolina Gamecocks bench reacts to their offense against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles during the second half at Colonial Life Arena. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley got right to the point about the matchup between her top-seeded South Carolina team and No. 9-seeded Indiana. The Hoosiers and Gamecocks meet in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.

“Super excited to play Indiana tomorrow. I know it's going to be a tough matchup. Teri (Moren, Indiana coach) always has her teams ready to rock and roll and competing for 40 minutes. Our team is up for the challenge,” Staley said.

The two teams met last year in a memorable Sweet 16 game in Albany, N.Y. Indiana trailed by 22 points, but a three-point attack helped the Hoosiers roar back to within two points in the waning moments. South Carolina held on for a 79-75 win, by far the closest the Gamecocks came to losing in a 2024 NCAA Tournament run that culminated in an undefeated national championship season.

The teams are different in 2024, though not drastically so. Both lost All-American level post players. Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes and South Carolina’s Kamila Cardoso both moved on. Indiana also lost sharpshooter Sara Scalia.

Still, there’s plenty of Indiana shooters – Yarden Garzon, Sydney Parrish, Shay Ciezki and Chloe Moore-McNeil – to give the Gamecocks problems if their shots are falling.

“They have the majority of the same team, so if I'm them I'm looking at what happened last year to see if we made an adjustment and we can connect a little bit better defensively and communicate a little bit better defensively,” Staley said of her Gamecocks.

“We'll be prepared for it. Hopefully they won't knock down as many threes as they did in that fourth quarter to put us in a position where they fought back and we had to claw to get the win,” Staley said.

South Carolina returns MiLaysia Fulwiley (12.1 ppg), Chloe Kitts (10.1 ppg), Te-Hina Paopao (9.7 ppg), Tessa Johnson (8.6 ppg), Sania Feagin (8 ppg), Bree Hall (6.3 ppg) and Raven Johnson (5 ppg) from the 2024 team.

“I think one of the biggest differences from a year ago is I'm not sure that we've ever seen a bench that scores more than the starting five. Two leading scorers come off the bench. That's pretty unique,” Indiana coach Teri Moren said.

“So that's what pops out, is the difference in terms of what they bring off the bench and how they can score the ball, manage so many different ways,” added Moren, who also noted South Carolina’s deadly transition scoring.

Here's a further breakdown of the Gamecocks.

Key players

South Carolina Gamecocks forward Joyce Edwards (8) goes to the basket against Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles guard Keeley Carter (24) during the first half at Colonial Life Arena. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

 • F Joyce Edwards: 13.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg.
• G MiLaysia Fulwiley: 12.1 ppg.
• F Chloe Kitts: 10.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg.
• G Te-Hina Paopao: 9.7 ppg.
• G Tessa Johnson: 8.6 ppg.
• F Sania Feagin: 8 ppg.
• G Bree Hall.: 6.3 ppg.
• G Raven Johnson: 5 ppg.

2024-25 Schedule (31-3)

• W, 68-62, Michigan, Nov. 4 – Charlotte.
• W, 71-57, NC State, Nov. 10 – Charlotte.
• W, 92-60, Coppin State, Nov. 14.
• W, 95-44, East Carolina, Nov. 17.
• W, 77-45, at Clemson, Nov. 20.
• L, 77-62, at UCLA, Nov. 24.
• W, 76-36, Iowa State, Nov. 28 – Fort Myers, Fla.
• W, 99-51, Purdue, Nov. 30 – Fort Myers, Fla.
• W, 81-70, Duke, Dec. 5.
• W, 85-52, at TCU, Dec. 8.
• W, 78-62, South Florida, Dec. 15.
• W, 82-46, Charleston Southern, Dec. 19.
• W, 93-47, Wofford, Dec. 29.
• W, 83-52, at Missouri, Jan. 2.
• W, 95-68, at Mississippi State, Jan. 5.
• W, 90-49, Texas A&M, Jan. 9.
• W, 67-50, Texas, Jan. 12.
• W, 76-58, at Alabama, Jan. 16.
• W, 101-60, Oklahoma, Jan. 19.
• W, 66-56, LSU, Jan. 24.
• W, 70-63, at Tennessee, Jan. 27.
• W, 83-66, Auburn, Feb. 2.
• W, 74-42, at Georgia, Feb. 6.
• L, 66-62, at Texas, Feb. 9.
• L, 87-58, Connecticut, Feb. 16.
• W, 95-55, Arkansas, Feb. 20.
• W, 82-54, at Vanderbilt, Feb. 23.
• W, 75-59, at Ole Miss, Feb. 27.
• W, 78-66, Kentucky, March 2.
• W, 84-63, Vanderbilt, March 7 – SEC Tournament
• W, 93-75, Oklahoma, March 8 – SEC Tournament
• W, 78-66, Texas, March 9 – SEC Tournament
• W, 108-48, Tennessee Tech, March 21 – NCAA Tournament

Series history

• South Carolina leads 4-2. The teams met in the 2024 NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16 round. The Gamecocks won 79-75 in Albany, N.Y.

Head coach: Dawn Staley

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley during the first half against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at Colonial Life Arena. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Staley is in her 17th season at South Carolina and has a record of 471-109, including three national championships. Staley’s career record is 643-189 after she spent eight seasons at Temple, compiling a 172-80 record with the Owls. Staley went straight into head coaching and was a professional player in addition to being a head coach for all but two of her years at Temple. Her WNBA career ended in 2006.

Strengths

Depth is a major asset for the Gamecocks. Their two leading scorers – Joyce Edwards and MiLaysia Fulwiley – both come off the bench. South Carolina’s leading scorer among starters is forward Chloe Kitts as she averages 10.1 points.

South Carolina doesn’t have a go-to scorer, because it has eight players who average at least six points per game. In addition, nearly every regular player in the rotation for the Gamecocks can distribute the rock. Ten Gamecocks average at least one assist per game.

South Carolina wants to create its offense in the paint. The Gamecocks rank fifth nationally in two-point attempts and two-point percentage at 52%. South Carolina also ranks ninth nationally in rebounds at 42.6 per game.

South Carolina is also one of the best teams at stopping teams from scoring in the lane. The Gamecocks rank third nationally in 2-point field goal defense at 37.5%.

Finally, South Carolina has championship lineage and the home court advantage.

Weaknesses

The Gamecocks have very few weaknesses. The Gamecocks only rank outside the top 100 nationally in one defensive category – opponents average 21.8 rebounds against them. Offensively, South Carolina avoids turnovers and fouls at a rate that makes them one of the best in the country in both categories.

Because they’re so dominant in the paint, South Carolina doesn’t take many 3-point shots, but even when they do? They make 33.7% of their attempts – which puts South Carolina in the top 100 nationally.

The matchup

Indiana Hoosiers guard Shay Ciezki (10) drives Friday, March 7, 2025, against USC Trojans guard Kennedy Smith (11) during the Big Ten women's tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. / Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It’s not Indiana’s first rodeo against a highly ranked team. Indiana proved to be competitive in two games against USC and one against UCLA. What cost Indiana in those games were small periods where they allowed both the Trojans and Bruins to dictate the game and get on a roll offensively. They weren’t long periods, but they were enough to put Indiana behind the 8-ball.

Beating South Carolina on its home floor will be a huge challenge. Indiana doesn’t have to play perfect, but it can’t be far off. The Hoosiers will need to be hot from 3-point range and defend without fouling in the paint.

Moren is confident Indiana can do the job if it has a few other things in order.

“When our assists are high and turnovers are low, we are rock solid defensively. I think we can play with anybody,” Moren said.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• HOW TO WATCH: How to watch Indiana's second round NCAA Tournament game against South Carolina on Sunday. CLICK HERE.

• PARRISH, PAOPAO REUNITE: Indiana's Sydney Parrish and South Carolina's Te-Hina Paopao reunite in the NCAA Tournament. CLICK HERE.

• INDIANA USES DOMINANT THIRD QUARTER TO BEAT UTAH: Indiana broke free from Utah in the third quarter to earn a first round NCAA Tournament victory on Friday. CLICK HERE.

• MEISTER IS WHAT MARCH MADNESS IS ALL ABOUT: Indiana post player Lilly Meister had a tough Big Ten season, but her productive game against Utah is the kind of story March Madness is all about. CLICK HERE.

• WHAT MOREN SAID: Indiana coach Teri Moren's postgame comments after Indiana's 76-68 victory over Utah on Friday. CLICK HERE.

• MOREN COMMENTS ON DEVRIES: Teri Moren was asked about new men's basketball coach Darian DeVries on Thursday. CLICK HERE.