Right before the game against Tennessee, Dawn Staley’s guard rotation took another hit. The South Carolina coach keeps losing players in the backcourt, which turns what should be a march to the championship into a constant scramble for players. Staley needed all the guards she could get because the No. 17 Lady Vols were putting a lot of pressure on her and playing quickly. But Maddy McDaniel just got hurt and added to the list of injuries.

Just before the game started, reporter Lulu Kesin broke the news of the latest setback, showing how bad the injury wave has gotten for South Carolina. “Injury news can’t stop for South Carolina women’s basketball. Maddy McDaniel is now out so Dawn Staley is now down her backup point guard and Agot Makeer,” Kesin posted. After McDaniel was listed on the SEC injury report, the announcement came, adding another name to an already thin backcourt rotation going into a tough game.

Staley’s guard depth couldn’t have come at a worse time. McDaniel had been averaging 4.5 points and three assists per game this season, but her recent performance was even more important—she scored 17 points and had nine assists in the last two games to make up for injuries to other players. Tennessee’s aggressive press and fast pace made it even harder for Raven Johnson to handle the ball without McDaniel’s help. Staley was already missing Agot Makeer, who got hurt in the first quarter against Auburn on January 29. Earlier in the week, she had to deal with Ta’Niya Latson’s and Tessa Johnson’s injuries.

Before this most recent injury, McDaniel’s role had already changed. She started on February 2 but was replaced by Ayla McDowell on February 5. This was Staley’s seventh different starting lineup experiment as she tried to find combinations that could survive the injury plague. To deal with worries about the depth of the backcourt, the coaching staff looked into rotations that included Edwards and Okot.

McDaniel has been injured for a long time, and this is just the latest problem. She hurt her knee in the first game of the season, which kept her from playing for four games during a crucial early-season stretch. This pattern of setbacks has put South Carolina’s injury problems in context for the whole 2025–26 season. The team’s amazing performance is even more impressive given the constant roster changes.

Dawn Staley rebuilds a championship team without championship experience

In less than ten years, South Carolina has won three national championships. Under Staley, they’ve been completely in charge. But everything changed in 2025. UConn beat them badly in the title game, and now everyone is wondering if the Gamecocks can come back. The issue? This year’s team is nothing like the teams that won the championship.

Staley was honest about how hard it would be for her team. “This year’s team is a lot different than our previous championship teams,” she said. “The previous championship teams had a core that had been together for at least an entire season or two. We don’t have the luxury of that. We may have one or two pieces that have been part of a championship, but 90 percent, 80 percent of our team hasn’t experienced a championship.”

The numbers tell the whole story. There are only three players with championship rings. Two of them belong to Raven Johnson. Tessa Johnson and Chloe Kitts both had perfect seasons in 2024. Joyce Edwards lost the title last year but never won it. That’s all. Everyone else on the No. 3-ranked team is new to winning at this level.

Now add injuries to that lack of experience. McDaniel is out. Agot Makeer is out. Ta’Niya Latson is out. Tessa Johnson is out. Staley is trying to build a championship team with mostly young, inexperienced players, but she keeps changing the roster.