The South Carolina-LSU rivalry needs no extra fuel, but the return of MiLaysia Fulwiley to Columbia has added a deeply personal chapter to the SEC’s biggest showdown. When Dawn Staley looks at the LSU bench, she’ll see a familiar face in a rival’s jersey. But for the legendary coach, the storyline of facing former Gamecock MiLaysia Fulwiley is just noise distracting from a much bigger prize.

This matchup isn’t just about rankings or SEC bragging rights. South Carolina has been dominant against LSU in recent years, carrying a long winning streak into this weekend’s game. Add to that the return of Fulwiley, a player once considered a homegrown star in Columbia, and the story practically writes itself. So when Staley was asked about her perspective in a recent interview, during a practice session, the coach revealed she only cares about the bigger picture.

“Do we want to win? Absolutely. I mean, I don’t want to win because it’s MiLaysia Fulwiley. I want to win because we got a chance to win the SEC. We got a chance to hopefully keep a No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday night. So it’s all of those things, the MiLaysia dynamic, that’s the narrative that’s created to drum up publicity for the game,” she said.

Dawn Staley further added, “For us, she was treated as Mikaylah Williams, she was treated as Flau’jae Johnson, and going down the line. We’re not putting anything extra. We’re not going to do anything to her that is outside the norm, we’re gonna play the game.”

Fulwiley is currently averaging 13.4 points per game at 47.9% for LSU. If you are wondering how that is better, it definitely is, because during her two seasons at South Carolina, she never crossed the 11.7 mark. Moreover, we also see improvement in her rebounds (3.5), assists (3.6), and steals (3.2). But Staley still sees Fulwiley largely in the same light she did as a Gamecock.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

“She’s pretty similar to what she’s been doing. She’s great in transition, can hit the three, can get to the basket. I do think she’s putting a little bit more heat on the ball handler. Just looking like a junior when things start to come together for them,” the coach said as per The State. 

So even while Dawn Staley recently claimed she has a “Win, lose, or draw” mindset for this game, her focus is firmly on winning a critical SEC matchup and keeping South Carolina on track for a top seed in March.

Dawn Staley and Kim Mulkey Strike the Same Tone on Fulwiley Narrative

Interestingly enough, the Tigers’ head coach, Kim Mulkey, also struck a similar tone earlier in the week when asked about the same thing.

“I don’t know that I have to really do anything. I think about when you’re a player, you’re out there trying to do the best you can for the team you play for, I don’t look for it as extra pressure,” Mulkey said when asked about how she’s helping Fulwiley handle the expectations for the upcoming game.

Mulkey further added, “Internally, a competitor wants to do really good against their former team, but in my talks with her she’s never said anything ugly about South Carolina. She just wanted to go somewhere where she would have an opportunity to learn the point guard position. She liked our style of play.”

Though from her numbers, it looks like MiLaysia Fulwiley’s transfer to LSU has paid off, as she is already seeing better minutes and better stats, still the narrative around this game is going to be: a shot where she gets to show that her move to LSU was worth it in front of a national audience in primetime.

Therefore, no matter how much the coaches frame it as just another SEC battle, the moment will carry a little extra weight.