MiLaysia Fulwiley Reveals Her Biggest Takeaway From Lone South Carolina Loss
The South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team suffered its first loss in 43 games on November 24, as they were defeated by the now-No. 1 ranked UCLA Bruins squad.
This defeat came as a shock to many within the women's basketball community; if only because it had been so long since Dawn Staley's Gamecocks lost a game.
Their most recent defeat before UCLA came on March 31, 2023, at the hands of Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the NCAA Tournament. After that, South Carolina produced an impeccable 2023-24 campaign where they went 41-0 and won Dawn Staley her third NCAA Championship trophy.
Therefore, the UCLA Loss was the first time that some Gamecocks players had ever tasted defeat while wearing that jersey. One of these players is standout sophomore guard MiLaysia Fulwiley, who has become a fan favorite due to her flashy play style.
Fulwiley's lack of playing time has been a hot topic on social media this year and was heightened after South Carolina's loss. However, Fulwiley's focus appeared to be more on the loss itself — which she alluded to when speaking with the media on Wednesday.
"I feel like our biggest takeaway is just probably to not let it happen again," Fulwiley said when asked about takeaways from the UCLA loss, per Matt Dowell. "That's a harsh feeling and we don't want to feel that way ever again.
"And as far as [last year's] freshman, we had never lost a game. So it wasn't a great feeling for us, and it was an unusual feeling. It's just something that we work hard for each and every day for it to never happen again," Fulwiley continued.
MiLaysia Fulwiley on what @GamecockWBB learned from the loss to UCLA and how they responded to that loss last week:
— Matt Dowell (@MattDowellTV) December 4, 2024
"Our biggest takeaway is just probably to not let it happen again. That's a harsh feeling and we don't want to feel that way ever again."@wachfox pic.twitter.com/nT805mchAa
It might be a long time before Fulwiley experiences losing again.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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