The Gamecocks fell 66-62 at Texas, their first SEC regular season loss in over three years. Here’s what stood out from the game.

– No matter the players, it seems like South Carolina has never been a good free throw shooting team under Dawn Staley. That’s why it was such a pleasant surprise that the Gamecocks have shot well for most of this season. They went into Sunday’s game shooting 75.6% from the line.

A lot of the credit went to Joyce Edwards. She not only made the most trips to the line but also shot over 80% from the line for most of the season. 

Unfortunately, over the past few weeks, Edwards and the Gamecocks have started to struggle from the line. Over the last five games, they have shot just 69.6% (69.2% against LSU, 50% at Tennessee, 87.5% against Auburn, and 66.7% at Georgia).

In the first half against Texas, the Gamecocks went 7-14 from the line. They were at least consistent, going 1-2 on every trip.

They were better in the second half and finished the game 15-23, but that’s still only 65.2%. If South Carolina had shot its season average, it would have made two more free throws. That could have been the difference between a win and a loss.

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– Madison Booker infamously struggled in the first game, shooting just 3-19 and scoring seven points. She was much better on Sunday, scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

But overall, I think South Carolina is okay with the way it defended Booker. She still shot just 7-22 (31.8%) and had more turnovers (four) than assists (three). All four turnovers were in the first half, which hurt (what hurt more was South Carolina’s general inability to convert turnovers into points, just six off 13 turnovers), but you can win by holding Booker to that stat line.

– This always looked like a hard game to win. It’s hard to beat a team twice, especially going on the road the second time. Plus, losing on the road to a top-five opponent doesn’t move South Carolina out of a one seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

But it does throw the SEC race into absolute chaos. There are so many potential outcomes that it’s almost impossible to project now. 

Here’s the main thing it means: South Carolina has no margin for error. They would have had wiggle room for a slip-up if they had won, but now the Gamecocks have to approach every game as must-win.