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Video: South Carolina's Tessa Johnson, Ta'Niya Latson and Coach Dawn Staley after win over #UNC
Oct 31, 2025
#Gamecocks #SpursUp #GamecocksWBB
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0:00
back in your hometown, 19 points. Just
0:02
how much more comfortable did you feel
0:03
out there as baby opposed to the first
0:04
exhibition?
0:05
Um, I feel really comfortable. I played
0:07
against UNCC before, so I just know I
0:09
had to, you know, bring my practice
0:10
habits to the game. Um, and just be
0:12
myself.
0:14
Lulu and then Mike, for both of you,
0:16
you're really, really special in
0:17
mid-range. What are you learning from
0:18
each other? How are you learning to play
0:20
together so far?
0:24
Go ahead. No, go.
0:26
Well, I feel like I learn a lot from her
0:30
her offensive game and she's just a
0:33
player that I've obviously never played
0:34
with. So, like seeing I kind of like
0:38
talk we talk to each other after every
0:40
possession or as much as we can in
0:43
practice and we just tell each other
0:44
what we see and just go kind of off of
0:47
that.
0:48
Um, I feed off her energy. Um, I mean
0:50
Tessa's been here, she knows the system.
0:52
She's a junior, she's upper classman
0:54
now, so I trust her instincts. Um, and
0:56
just like she said, you know, going over
0:58
plays together, practicing, you know,
0:59
passes together, just so we can build
1:01
that chemistry going into the season.
1:03
Here's Michael and then we'll go to the
1:04
end.
1:04
Tessa, just 19 tonight for you. How
1:06
important is it to kind of get rolling
1:07
early uh in the season on offense for
1:09
you?
1:11
I mean,
1:14
I mean, I don't really care about points
1:16
to be honest,
1:17
but my shots was going in. I guess
1:19
I do. But I feel like it was because
1:22
you do she cares.
1:24
I do for you. Yes.
1:26
Coach cares about points.
1:27
Yes.
1:28
Yes.
1:28
But like the ball was finding me because
1:30
of what my teammates was doing and then
1:32
I just happened to make my shots
1:35
here on the inside aisle.
1:36
I really got two questions. First of
1:37
all, talk about some of the things that
1:38
coach Bailey is challenging you to do
1:41
coming into this program.
1:42
Uh she's challenging me on the defensive
1:43
end for sure. Um, I asked her today, I
1:45
mean the other day in practice what I
1:47
could do better to impact the practice
1:49
and the game and she said play defense.
1:51
So that's something that I've been
1:52
really working on this year. I want to
1:53
become a better defender.
1:55
Number 25.
1:56
Um, yeah, Raven, she's so special. I
1:58
mean, when she walks in the room, she
2:00
lights it up and I, you know, I feed off
2:02
of her energy. Um, she's been a role
2:04
model. Not a role model, but she's been
2:06
somebody that I can lean on during this
2:07
process. Um, and she's just um, a great
2:11
player, great PG, a great teammate, and
2:13
so I'm just happy to be here with her.
2:15
Dennis,
2:17
um, a lot of inside buckets tonight. Do
2:19
you feel like that part of your game has
2:20
been kind of overlooked over the past
2:21
two years because of your threes?
2:24
I mean, you can you can see it that way,
2:26
but I wasn't really I kind of made
2:28
myself a three just a three-point
2:30
shooter. Like, I didn't really attack as
2:32
much as I can and stuff like that. So, I
2:36
think I did it to myself out there
2:38
really
2:39
for both of you. Going back to Raven,
2:40
what would you say is the most
2:41
underrated part of her game?
2:43
Um,
2:46
her ability to attack. I mean, we're
2:47
going to see a lot of that this year.
2:49
Um, she's been working on it in the
2:50
summer. So, um, I hope it translates
2:52
into the game and I know it will.
2:54
I agree. She's been she really has been
2:56
working on just scoring and off of that
2:58
it's going to become playmaking. So, I
3:00
think that
3:03
Anything else for student athletes? Go
3:05
ahead.
3:05
Uh tonight you you run into Carolina a
3:07
lot obviously and you've had that match
3:10
up uh with India in the bar quite a bit.
3:13
You talk about that matchup and
3:16
Yeah.
3:16
How are you able to deal with that?
3:18
Yeah, India is a really good player. Um
3:19
we were both McDonald Americans. So I
3:21
I've known her for a while. Um she's
3:23
worked on her game. She's expanded her
3:24
game. So um it's always a good, you
3:26
know, bump when we play against each
3:28
other. Um and like you said, I played
3:29
against UNCC a lot. So um they're very
3:31
familiar.
3:33
Thank you ladies. Thank you.
3:35
Thanks, guys.
3:38
Awesome.
3:39
Questions for Coach Daily
3:42
like um sorry Joyce was bringing up the
3:46
ball a lot in the first half. Was that
3:48
by design how the play was resolved? Is
3:49
that something that you might like to do
3:51
with more people?
3:52
Um it wasn't by design. I mean, she
3:55
obviously can handle the basketball. I I
3:57
thought our point guards deferred a
3:59
little bit too much. Um but she's
4:02
capable. I mean I mean
4:05
national championship game they they had
4:07
to handle the basketball. So it's not a
4:09
foreign thing to them. Um I I'd like for
4:12
our point guards to kind of uh hold it a
4:15
little bit. Maybe maybe
4:18
use Joyce as a screener and stay in
4:21
transition a little bit longer with
4:23
their decision makers early in the
4:25
possession.
4:27
Michael,
4:28
I saw Isla didn't play today. Was that a
4:30
coach decision or what was that? Yeah,
4:32
she's been she's been sick. So, I mean I
4:36
she's been sick for the last probably
4:38
couple days and she probably could have
4:40
played but uh she doesn't really feel
4:44
that well and shoot around. So, I just
4:46
decided she's braving through it but I
4:48
decided just to you know allow her to
4:50
get better so she can be ready for when
4:53
the regular season rolls around.
4:57
Go ahead here.
4:58
UNCC had some success in transition. How
5:01
are they able to do that? And then how
5:03
are you able to kind of stop
5:05
Yeah.
5:05
from getting that as often?
5:07
I mean, when you turn the ball over as
5:09
much as we did, especially in the fourth
5:10
quarter, it becomes a lot easier. Um cuz
5:13
you create an advantage. Um and they are
5:16
transition team. They would probably
5:18
much prefer to to play in transition
5:20
like all of us. Um where you just get
5:22
ahead of the possession and you stay
5:24
ahead of the possession. and they they
5:26
did a really good job at just really
5:28
being scrappy and getting loose balls
5:31
and I mean they got 14 offensive
5:33
rebounds. So it it was more of them
5:35
being super physical, scrappy and they
5:39
had a one about them
5:40
here on the inside on the back.
5:42
First of all, thanks for accepting this
5:43
game here in Atlanta. It gives us a
5:45
chance to see and raise absolutely
5:47
otherwise here. Talk about reuniting
5:50
them with your team. Um, I mean when
5:52
when um we were approached about doing a
5:56
game here in Atlanta, I mean we
5:58
instantly took the game. I mean
6:00
obviously we want to bring Raven Tan to
6:03
Naya um back home. We couldn't get we
6:06
couldn't get games here in Atlanta. So
6:08
this was the next best thing. And
6:11
fortunately for us, Tanaya transferred
6:14
and and Ravens stayed another another
6:17
year for us to actually um allow us to
6:22
celebrate them on their home turf.
6:25
Then Michael,
6:26
um I know she played in the second half,
6:27
but just verbal confirmation that
6:29
Raven's okay. Obviously fell hard on
6:31
their back.
6:33
Yeah, I mean I mean we'll see what she
6:34
feels like tomorrow. Uh it's probably
6:36
going to hurt a little bit. probably be
6:37
a little bit sore tomorrow, but Raven's
6:39
tough. Raven's tough. Raven Raven Raven
6:41
is Ra if Raven can run around. Um,
6:47
she's gonna she's going to play like
6:49
she's going to practice. She's going to
6:51
play. So,
6:52
Teflon.
6:54
Uh, I know Tessa and Medina had a little
6:56
bit of foul trouble there. How do you
6:57
feel like you were kind of able to adapt
6:59
and flex the rotation when when they had
7:01
to come out? Yeah, I mean um I mean I
7:04
mean I would say Tessa's defense came I
7:07
mean Tessa's fouls came from playing
7:08
defense like she was really guarding and
7:12
sometimes when you're guarding as as as
7:14
well as she was guarding you're going to
7:16
you're going to force yourself some
7:17
fouls here or there. Um I would say for
7:21
her is to not try to take a charge when
7:23
she's already you know in somewhat foul
7:25
trouble. Um and then others you just got
7:28
to sometimes give up the two points to
7:30
stay on the floor. Um Medina
7:33
um they they attacked her, you know,
7:35
they put her in a position where she
7:37
either fouled right and she did. Um but
7:42
she'll she'll make the adjustment. You
7:44
know, I think we did some switching, put
7:46
in a position where she had to guard
7:48
some guards that that attacked her. Um,
7:51
she's got to do a better job at She's
7:53
got to do a better job at getting his
7:54
stance. Like she's too upright. So, cuz
7:57
she can guard like she can guard a
7:59
guard. There's no doubt in my mind if we
8:01
if we're switching with her that that
8:04
she can't guard a guard.
8:06
Any
8:08
doubt looked a lot more aggressive, you
8:09
know, scoring on the inside kind of
8:11
first look, put it up instead of trying
8:13
to pass back down. Just how much has
8:14
that grown and how much have you
8:16
challenged her to say, "We need you to
8:17
be like that?" Man, I mean I mean I'm
8:19
proud of Miam. She's been working her
8:22
tail off like like all summer long. Gave
8:25
up her summer to stay here and work out.
8:28
Um and now you know the the games are a
8:32
lot cleaner for her. Like she could see
8:34
things a lot better. She could process
8:36
things a lot better. And and and it may
8:40
like we do this thing as as coaches who
8:42
who do we think we're who's going to
8:44
who's going to play well today? like we
8:45
played got too much time on our hands in
8:47
the locker room before the game. And my
8:50
choice was Marian. I I knew Marion was
8:52
going to play well because things will
8:55
be clear like her and Adele both are
8:59
they're actually doing things that that
9:03
Joyce and Medina aren't doing. They have
9:05
to that's one. But they're they're
9:07
defending at a high rate. They're
9:10
they're rebounding at a high rate.
9:11
They're just more really aware of of
9:13
what's happening. And you need for role
9:16
players like them to play that way
9:19
distinctively different than how our
9:22
starters are playing. And they just
9:24
they're going to allow us to go deep and
9:26
and had the depth that we've had in
9:28
previous years.
9:30
Um a guy had some good and some bad
9:33
today.
9:34
What did you think?
9:36
um freshman, you know, like just really
9:40
um just careless with the ball like like
9:45
and I and I think we have to make some
9:46
adjustments with her as far as getting
9:48
the highlighters to play a little bit
9:50
more aggressive. They are. I mean, it's
9:52
it's stuff that we've seen in practice.
9:54
So, it's not like, you know, it's not
9:56
like they were new mistakes. We've seen
9:59
them before. She's just she's she's a
10:01
great passer. She's got great court
10:03
vision. Um, she's got to get rid of it a
10:06
little bit quicker and make a quicker
10:08
decision with the basketball. But that's
10:09
just that's that's going to watch film
10:12
and she'll make adjustments. She's
10:14
really a high IQ player.
10:17
Lulu and then back to the front. Just
10:19
kind of chemistry related just ball
10:21
movement, how are you kind of seeing it?
10:22
And then just on defense kind of
10:24
communication in that regard.
10:26
Um, we we need to get better. That's
10:28
that's one thing. Um, and you you have
10:32
to understand this is a totally
10:33
different basketball team. Like totally.
10:36
And then we we've only been together
10:39
really as a team since really August,
10:42
end of August. So, we don't have the
10:45
continuity and the flow and the
10:47
chemistry that we need. It's It's a lot
10:50
better. Even a lot better than we played
10:51
in Anderson. So, you know, like like
10:54
some things like
10:58
like we got players who can score the
10:59
ball, so they're going to they're going
11:01
to bet on self first. But sometimes, you
11:04
know, uh when you make an extra pass, it
11:06
just it just establishs the defense a
11:09
little bit, you know, deeper and they
11:12
have to get the the understanding of
11:14
that. Um but I I was proud. There was a
11:16
lot of things that we could take that's
11:18
good from the from the film. There's a
11:20
lot of things that we we we got to work
11:22
on and I'm I'm glad it wasn't a game
11:24
that got out of hand. I'm glad it was a
11:26
game and we actually get some some some
11:29
footage that will help us get better
11:32
here in the front and they're able to
11:34
wrap us up.
11:35
D, what kind of potential do you see
11:37
from this Carolina team, North Carolina
11:39
team? I know it's a small sample size,
11:41
but a lot of youth, a lot of and and
11:44
some veterans.
11:45
I mean, one, they're they they defend,
11:47
right? They give multiple efforts. They
11:50
got people that can flat out shoot the
11:52
basketball. They have people that can
11:54
can penetrate and get to the basket. Um,
11:57
I mean, they're not totally healthy
11:59
either because they got two players that
12:02
play a big role for them. Um, so it's
12:06
only allowing the young players to get,
12:08
you know, some great minutes and some
12:10
experience. So, you know, they're going
12:12
to challenge in the ACC for for sure.
12:15
For sure. Everybody needs to to stay
12:17
healthy um so you can actually see what
12:20
they're they're capable of doing.
12:23
Dawn season starts on Monday. Is there
12:25
one thing above all this we've got to
12:27
get this fix?
12:29
Um I mean I defensively um we got to be
12:34
better connected than we are. Um, and
12:37
then when we are, you'll see the fouls
12:41
clean up, but you know, the fouling is
12:44
attributed to just bad rotations and bad
12:48
just connection. And we're we're really
12:52
aren't used to that right now. Like,
12:55
it's about building chemistry with the
12:56
players that you're playing with. And
12:58
that's that's really hard. You need game
13:00
experiences to do that. Like even Joyce
13:02
and Medina don't have, you know, the the
13:05
best chemistry right now. I mean, if we
13:07
had Khloe, Khloe and Joyce would
13:09
probably play a little bit better
13:10
together and you can cheat some plays
13:12
here knowing that that Khloe's aware of
13:14
it. So, we got we got to gain that.
13:17
Tania, you know, same thing same thing
13:19
with uh just our starting group. They
13:23
just got to get better connected from a
13:25
from a defensive standpoint, but the
13:27
effort the effort's going to be there.
13:29
Thank you all.
13:30
Thank you all. Thank y'all for coming.
13:32
[Music]
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