Dawn Staley Details How South Carolina Stepped Up After Ashlyn Watkins Knee Injury
The defending NCAA National Champion South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team improved to 14-1 after beating the Mississippi State Bulldogs by a score of 95-68.
Despite what the final score may suggest, it was not all smooth sailing for Dawn Staley's Gamecocks squad. Not only were they losing 22-13 after the first quarter, but standout forward Ashlyn Watkins went down with a concerning knee injury a few minutes into the second quarter.
Watkins was dribbling into the paint with 7:42 remaining in the first half when she went up for a contested shot. After a foul was called on her defender, Watkins landed awkwardly on her knee, which seemed to buckle once she hit the ground.
She immediately sat up and was holding her left knee. Dawn Staley went out to speak with her, and after about a minute Watkins got up with the help of a member of South Carolina's coaching staff. She couldn't put any weight on her knee and went straight to the locker room. She did not return to the game.
Here’s a video of the Ashlyn Watkins injury during today’s South Carolina vs Miss St game, per the @RobbeeeRob YouTube account.
— Grant Young (@GrvntYoung) January 6, 2025
Hoping it’s something minor 🙏 pic.twitter.com/y0lmteRCBZ
Staley spoke with the media after the game. The first questions asked were whether Staley had any update on Watkins' injury (she didn't) and whether Watkins needed to be transported to the local hospital (she didn't).
The score at the time Watkins went down was 24-15 in favor of Mississippi State. After that, South Carolina outscored them 80-44.
Staley was also asked what was said in the team huddle after Watkins went down to facilitate such a dominant comeback.
"I think psychologically, for our players, they took it to another level," Staley said, per the South Carolina Gamecocks YouTube account. "We didn't say anything, and we try not to. We try to just keep things moving. Obviously, we feel for Ashlyn and her injury, and her not being able to finish the game.
"But her teammates had her back. And they did take it to another level on both ends of the floor," she added.
There will likely be an update on Watkins' injury in the coming days.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.