BREAKING:MiLaysia Fulwiley, Chloe Kitts, Joyce Edwards and the South Carolina Gamecocks are DEFYING THE DOUBTERS….Read More…

BREAKING:MiLaysia Fulwiley, Chloe Kitts, Joyce Edwards and the South Carolina Gamecocks are DEFYING THE DOUBTERS | SLAMU 8 Digital Cover

When the South Carolina women’s basketball team wins as frequently as they do, victory becomes the norm rather than the exception. What occurs, though, if they lose? Only three of their 30-3 season-to-date record—to UCLA, Texas, and UConn—have resulted in real-time crashouts. Everyone has something to say about the Gamecocks, whether it is Twitter commentators or media outlets like The State, which made the headline, making South Carolina’s chances of making it to the WBB.

“I feel like people kind of forget that it’s normal to lose, you can’t win them all,” MiLaysia Fulwiley said to us in February. “I mean I wish we could, but it’s been a year. It’s coming. It’s been years, like, we just keep winning so easily. These losses ain’t gonna do nothing but prepare us more for when it matters the most.”

We spoke with MiLaysia Fulwiley, Chloe Kitts, and Joyce Edwards before they won the SEC Championship about this season, their preparation, what legacy means, and a lot more. After all, who could be more qualified to discuss the current state of this team? And the Gamecocks will be the ones to say, “I told you so,” if they win another national championship and win consecutive titles.

Joyce Edwards: It’s just surreal, kind of full circle. You play these girls in high school—you think you’ll never really see them again. They’re gonna go their ways [and] you’re gonna go your way. But the fact that we’re all on the same team, and we’re literally three McDonald’s All-Americans—we’re so tough. Like Lay said, I just feel bad for our opponents because it’s crazy to think about.

Chloe Kitts: I think we were aware from the start. There were several excellent exercises this year. They were all hooping. “Dang, we are gelling extremely well,” we thought. We did not really notice that last year, but it turned out well for us. However, everyone was eager and prepared this year from the very beginning. As you can see, winning is everyone’s first priority. It is almost visible.

MF: I concur, as there were some really awful sessions last year. We experienced many difficult days, but this year seemed to be the total opposite. We arrived with a clear idea of what we wanted to accomplish. Every exercise, in my opinion, helped us develop into the people we are now. We are still looking for ourselves as a group, as a totality. Therefore, I also believe that our freshman were a major contributor to that. They arrived prepared to hoop.

Joyce Edwards, Maddy McDaniel, they came in ready to dominate, ready to fill in. And Joyce did a great job with just being confident in herself and remembering who she is as a player. Because coming into college, that can be the hardest part about it, and having a freshman that plays like a senior is really good for us. That really gels us together, helps us be confident and believe who we are.

JE: Last summer, I was not really here.I arrived late from [squad] USA, but this is the best squad I have ever played for, so I can not say that I knew we [were] prepared for that because I had never experienced it before and did not know what we were preparing for.I simply knew that we were all competent and that each person on the floor had a significant influence on our practice routine.Therefore, I had the idea that whoever faced this would find it.

MF: To me, it means a lot. I came from South Carolina, born and raised in South Carolina.
Growing up here, it means a lot to me, but not only me, with my family and my friends, putting
a jersey on for any college level, it means a lot. So just saying that I can be able to represent my hometown, my home state, it means a lot to me, and I love it. I appreciate [Coach] Dawn [Staley]
and the University of South Carolina for giving me the opportunity to play here.

JE: The entire squad, literally the three of us.

South Carolina is what it is because of its people.We wish each other the best.We genuinely support and care for one another in every way.That, in my opinion, is the key element since, although statues and titles can be found anywhere, the people are ultimately what matter.

CK: It seems to me that many of us have diverse origins.Everyone is somewhat unique.Since we are all members of the same large family, we all desire to know more .

JE: The way that we come out of losses, it’s really insane. We go on, we just destroy everybody else in our path.

CK: I mean, we’d rather lose now than later on. People try and play their best game against us, people scout [us] forever just to play against us because they want to beat us so bad. I mean, it’s
OK to lose. We’re not going to lose when it matters, and that’s all that matters.