by Greenville, SC – Vanderbilt had reduced. With first-year phenomenon Mikayla Blakes that led the leadership, the Commodores came at a striking distance from the top of South Carolina in the quarterfinals of the SETS Tournament of South Carolina. The GameCocks sticked to a slim benefit, 68-63, with just over four minutes to play after Blakes waved a 3-pointer.
And then Dawn Staley’s team got on gas and ended the game on a 16-0 run and won an 84-63 victory in Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Friday.
The box score will show that South Carolina Junior Forward Chloe Kitts was the best player on the floor during the Friday afternoon matinee, ending with 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting to go with 10 rebounds. And indeed, Kitts’ game was crucial to help the number 1 game stands to pull away from Vanderbilt’s upset bid.
But so often in this game and often also in the course of this season who injected life and energy into South Carolina with head-rurating performance of athletics, emphasized worthy plays and incredible instinct second-year student Milaysia Fulwiley, the SEC Sixth player of the year.
Fulwiley, who was the SEC tournament -MVP here last year as a first -year student, had an impact every time she got on the floor on Friday. Her playing opportunities led to her team, her finishes on fast breaks made her teammates cheer and her agile passing skills made the crowd roar.
“She sees things outside that nobody else sees,” said Staley about Fulwiley. “So she has to train people to play with her.”
A good example came during the decisive game that the fourth quarter for South Carolina in the fourth quarter, after the Gamecocks had applied an attacking rebound after a missed free throw by Kitts. Fulwiley caught the ball near mid-court, dribbled around one defender, accelerated and drove by another, and just before bumping into a third Commodore with two others ready to collapse on her in the paint, she whipped the ball around her back with her right hand, delivering a perfect no-look pass to A wide-open Sania Feagin who connected on a Layup with Ease.
“The pass pass pass, coach pulled it for me to go-she said no score or shoot,” Fulwiley said. “I realized that if I attacked the middle, something would open. I saw Sania from the corner of the eye, so I just threw it and she finished it. ‘
Staley added: “Sometimes a simple pass is sufficient. Sometimes, just like the pass, it was really the only pass the only pass she could deliver the ball. I know that because I have done a lot. ‘
It was a dime that Steve Nash-Blush made, and it gave the GameCocks a 14-point lead with about 100 seconds to play. Simply put, the game was over and Fulwiley was a big reason why.
Fulwiley ended the game with 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals in 23 minutes action. All three of the Dimes of Columbia, the resident of South Carolina, rose during the late game rise in the GameCocks. Fulwiley also scored the last points of the game, took an attacking rebound of Bree Hall’s Miss and put the ball in the bucket with an easy layout.
Fitting the no-look are something that Fulwiley practices. She will often break them out when the gamecocks run through transition exercises. And especially with Feagin-de 6-FOO-3 senior with an even greater spanning width, Fulwiley has chemistry and trust with her developed.
“I hope and pray that they will catch it and they make the shot,” Fulwiley told SB Nation. “And with Sania I have the feeling that we do that a lot. I saw her a bit from the corner of her eye and I knew she would finish it. So we have that kind of connection. She is ready for everything. “
Fulwiley said she really started to develop a confidence in trying those daring and flashy passes in seventh grade. The first time she tried it, it was in an attempt to imitate a player she looked up to, LeBron James.
“I was a big fan of LeBron, but …” Fulwiley pauses. “I am definitely a Curry fan now.”
And Fulwiley also did her best imitation of Steph in this game. With 3.4 seconds left in the first quarter, she dissolved possession away from a Vanderbilt player, ran to the right wing on the other side and stopped from a 3-point range. While the buzzer sounded, her shot fell harmlessly through the hoop and closed a 13-4 run for the GameCocks.
“I saw how (Leilani Kapinus van vannderbilt) casually dribbled,” Fulwiley explained. “And so I thought:” I might as well try to take the ball. “And when I took it, I thought,” Well, I have to shoot it. “
Fulwiley is more than comfortable photography in this arena of 15,000 seats.
As a high school student – long before she had a zero endorsement deal with the curry brand, while she was one of the top 15 prospects in the recruitment class of 2023 – she helped Richland County’s WJ Keenan High School to win several State Championships. Fulwiley became the starting point guard of her high school as an eighth class and called on local coaches to compare her with Ivory Latta. A resident of McConnells, South Carolina, Latta owned the high school circuit in the state before he led the UNC Tar Heels to three ACC titles and a few last four berths two decades ago.
Fulwiley can be well on your way to help South Carolina win a second conference tournament and make another trip to the last four.
“Milaysia is a talent, generation talent,” said Staley. “When I say she can do things on the basketball court, I haven’t seen a woman do it yet … When she’s going, she pumps the pace. Her speed for me is her super power. Nobody on the field can stay for her if she’s going on. “
And when Fulwiley is going, South Carolina is extremely difficult to beat.
