MiLaysia Fulwiley stats last night: How did South Carolina star perform vs. Purdue Boilermakers (Nov. 30)
No. 4 South Carolina swept aside Purdue 99-51 as MiLaysia Fulwiley’s 14 points were enough to lead the Gamecocks to victory on Saturday. Fulwiley followed up on her performance from the Gamecocks bounce-back win over Iowa State on Thursday to deliver another stellar outing. Against Iowa State, she put up 8 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal to begin the resurgence.
Against Purdue, MiLaysia played 17 minutes and led the team in points scored (14) to ensure the victory was never in doubt at the Women's Fort Myers Tip-Off. Tessa Johnson and Ashlyn Watkins also contributed with 13 points.
It was also a memorable day for freshman Maddy McDaniel, who scored a season-high 10 points and shot 100% from the floor (5/5). This was South Carolina's highest points total in a game this season.
Fulwiley averages 10.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, shooting 42.5% from the field this season. After MiLaysia played three minutes in South Carolina’s loss to UCLA which ended their 43-game winning streak on Nov. 24, the sophomore guard had a point to prove.
Fans scrutinized her on social media, but coach Dawn Staley brushed it off and silenced the noise, saying that she and MiLaysia were on good terms and there was no need to ask about any issues.
The Gamecocks bounced back against Iowa State and inflicted one of the heaviest school defeats in Purdue history.
Fans will be hoping this performance will spark a series of high-quality performances from MiLaysia Fulwiley. The Gamecocks took control of the game in the second quarter 30-6 and coasted to victory to reach a 7-1 record this season.
One highlight of the match was a halfcourt 3-pointer from MiLaysia Fulwiley at the end of the third quarter. However, the bucket was ruled out by the officials because she didn't release the ball in time.
South Carolina's Dawn Staley praised Te-Hina Paopao’s performance
Te-Hina Paopao averages 12.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, shooting 49.4% from the field, including 43.8% from three this season. The guard leads the team in total points and assists.
Dawn Staley was full of praise for the senior after her performances in the last few games, referencing her work ethic on defense for the Gamecocks after their victory against Iowa State.
“It is a privilege to coach Paopao,” Staley said. “I mean, her defense was more impressive to me than her ability to facilitate. I've seen her facilitate before. I've never seen her pick up 94 feet time and time again when we subbed out Raven [Johnson.] That's usually Raven's job to do that, but Paopao made a concerted effort to do it in practice the last two days.”
South Carolina has averaged 80.0 points and 15.1 assists per game while shooting 44.6% from the field. South Carolina has allowed 54.0 points per game on defense. Forward Chloe Kitts leads the team in rebounds, with 8.0 per game.
Coach Staley praised the Gamecocks guards depth chart,
“When you have three pretty darn good point guards, like, you really can't go wrong,” Staley said after the Iowa State game. "Pao, Raven, now Maddy [McDaniel], they do a great job at picking up where the other one left off. You know they can, they can kind of see it and feel it for each other.”
Dawn Staley and South Carolina get set to battle Duke on Thursday (Dec. 5), TCU on Sunday (Dec. 8) and South Florida (Dec. 15) in their next three fixtures.