Ahead of SEC Tournament title game, South Carolina’s MiLaysia Fulwiley relishes her growth

The Gamecocks’ sophomore sensation fielded the pass, leaped off two feet with confidence — with Payton Verhulst’s outstretched arm slightly in her sight — and drained her only 3-pointer of the game. Fulwiley greeted the Carolina Band as well as Gamecock cheerleaders and fans with a big smile before briefly skipping down the left sideline inside Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Her shot gave the Gamecocks an 83-65 advantage against the Sooners with 3:39 remaining.

Little did Fulwiley know that it would be her last field goal of the contest. With 2:03 to play in South Carolina’s (29-3) eventual 93-75 victory against Oklahoma (25-7) to advance to an SEC-record sixth consecutive tournament championship game, head coach Dawn Staley subbed her second-leading scorer out of the game. As Fulwiley walked to the sideline, the SEC Sixth Woman of the Year shared a few chuckles with her coach before she received multiple high-fives from her teammates and walked to the end of the bench.

“I can’t remember what [Staley] told me,” Fulwiley told reporters postgame. “She was just telling me that I played good.”

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Not only did Fulwiley play well, she made smart decisions with the ball and was efficient, hitting 8 of 17 shots to finish with 19 points, five assists and three rebounds.

The moment felt all too familiar, but things were different. 

Nearly a year ago to the date, Fulwiley played in her first SEC Tournament semifinal and delivered 13 points, four rebounds and a steal in 13 minutes in the Gamecocks’ dramatic 74-73 win against Tennessee en route to the program’s eighth conference tournament championship. 

But on Saturday, Fulwiley’s journey — one where she once advocated for more playing time off the bench and felt comfortable voicing that to Staley — delivered more clarity and understanding. One of women’s college basketball’s most electrifying players feels freer and more comfortable as she heads into the title game on Sunday and a run toward another NCAA championship in a few weeks.

“I think it was really all up to me, and I’m glad I finally actually understood that part,” Fulwiley told reporters about her growth on the team. “I’m glad that I just stayed positive for everything. We got great coaches. They all kept my head high, and they all told me what [my role] was. … The outsiders, they didn’t really even know. But I’m glad that the coaches got me together.”

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As a freshman, Fulwiley started only three games and averaged 11.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 43.8% from the floor. Yet the 5’10 guard also took home SEC Tournament MVP honors that year. 

Through two games in this year’s tournament, Fulwiley has registered a combined 34 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. She has also generated several highlight plays, including an emphatic steal, a jaw-dropping cradle layup and a sensational behind-the-back pass to teammate Sania Feagin for a scoring opportunity in the Gamecocks’ victory over Vanderbilt.

And to think, Fulwiley is only in Year 2. That’s something Staley doesn’t take for granted.

“[Fulwiley] is still very young,” Staley said. “She has played probably her entire life doing what she wants to do and does it well. … So we have to figure out how we get her to be a better reader out there on the floor. What we’ve been working on with her is just simplifying, making the layups, direct line drives, utilizing her speed. … There’s nobody that can beat her when she has the ball. … That is her superpower.”

Staley added, “She’s been great to just kind of go through this journey with. … She’s such a great player, and you want to see her just complete her journey in a way that makes her a better pro, makes her more predictable, makes her more reliable.”

Related reading: South Carolina’s Te-Hina Paopao is poetry in motion

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With Saturday’s win, South Carolina will face Texas (31-2) on Sunday afternoon in the SEC title game. It will be the third matchup between the two AP top-five opponents this season. The teams split the regular-season games: South Carolina captured a 67-50 win on Jan. 12, while the Longhorns earned their revenge on Feb. 9, 66-62.

Against Texas this season, Fulwiley totaled 21 points, six rebounds, three assists and six steals. As Texas seeks to follow up its first co-SEC regular-season title with a first SEC Tournament title, Fulwiley hopes to play a part in winning her second and South Carolina’s ninth SEC Tournament crown since 2015. 

But even as Staley prepares her players for the big stage that has become a mainstay in the DNA of the Gamecocks’ program, she wants to continue to allow her sophomore star to become the player she wants to be — one that Staley deems powerful and a generational talent.

“We don’t want to strip [Fulwiley] away from feeling the game and being out there and taking chances sometimes,” Staley said. “Within those chances, there’s some greatness that’s taking place.”