Dawn Staley counsels some South Carolina fans to keep calm after No. 4 Gamecocks’ 1st loss in two seasons

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina coach Dawn Staley is not in panic mode, even if some of her famous “Fams” are following the Gamecocks’ first loss in two seasons.

Sure, South Carolina has only lost twice in its past 87 games. Yet, even Staley can’t understand worries she has heard since the program’s record 43-game win streak ended with a 77-62 loss at UCLA.

The sky is not falling, Staley said before the Gamecocks (5-1), who slipped from No. 1 to No. 4, get back at it against No. 15 Iowa State (5-1) at the Fort Myers Tip-off in Florida.

“This is a team that hasn’t dealt with a whole lot of losing,” said Staley, whose teams have lost a total of four games the past four seasons, a stretch that included national titles in 2022 and this past season.

“But you handle it with grace and you hand it with learning lessons,” Staley said. “Things were exposed and hopefully we can fill some of those holes.”

South Carolina has struggled with slow starts this season and it happened again in the loss to the Bruins. The Gamecocks shot just nine of 34 in the opening two periods and trailed 43-22, a hole they could not dig themselves out of.

Part of the problem is the team has yet to fully adjust to playing without last year’s leading scorer and rebounder in centerpiece player Kamilla Cardoso. The 6-foot-7 Cardoso was a virtual lock to score down low once she got the entry pass.

Staley said the Gamecocks haven’t found that same comfortability in the post so far this season. The team’s outside shooting could not make up the difference at UCLA.

The outside reaction to defeat took Staley by surprise. Some on social media — Staley continually has her head in her phone to soak up the outside comments — questioned why dynamic guard MiLaysia Fulwiley played less than three minutes and had zero points after averaging 12.8 points over her previous five games.

Are lineup changes ahead for Staley? “No, no, no, no,” she said emphatically.

And all is OK with Fulwiley, the sophomore who was the Southeastern Conference Tournament MVP a season ago, Staley said.

“MiLaysia is a generational talent,” Staley said. “Does that mean she’s not going to go through some things? Yeah, she is.”

Fulwiley and the rest of the team, after a mostly quiet cross-country flight home, returned to practice to flush the defeat and get back to what they know best in winning.

“We came in with the mindset that, ‘Hey, it was an early loss,’” said Te-Hina Paopao, South Carolina’s leading scorer at 14.2 points a game. “The world isn’t going to end. We’re still here.”

South Carolina’s early challenging stretch — it will have faced four ranked opponents in its first 10 games — continues with the Cyclones, who are led by Audi Crooks, a center who is tied for 15th in the country at 21.7 points a game.

The Gamecocks must not give Crooks easy, open touches inside and make her move a couple of times before getting off a shot, Staley said. “I think that favors us,” she said.

South Carolina has not lost two straight since 2019 when it fell to Mississippi State to close the regular season and then were beaten by Arkansas to start the SEC Tournament.

It’s been 14 years since the Gamecocks lost consecutive non-conference games when they were defeated by Penn State, Stanford and UC Davis in November 2010.

Staley’s message to those making the outside noise? Stay calm. The season is long, and South Carolina is loaded with talented players who are still finding the best way to blend.

“We’re going to continue to get this team where it needs to be,” said Staley, in her 17th season with the Gamecocks. “It’s unfortunate that we’ve got the type of schedule that doesn’t lend itself to happier times for everybody.

“To do that is our choice,” she continued. “So it’s only going to make us better.”