Fifth-year standout Te-Hina Paopao showcased her offensive and defensive skills in the Gamecocks 76-36 win over Iowa State last Nov. 28. Paopao posted an all-around statline of seven points, five rebounds, an assist, and tied for the team-high of three steals.
Head coach Dawn Staley talked about the 22-year old player during the post-game press conference.
"Her defense was more impressive to me than her ability to facilitate. I've seen her facilitate before. I've never seen her pick up (from) 94 feet time and time again. When we subbed out Raven, that's usually Raven's job to do that. But, Pao made a concertive effort to do it in practice the last two days," Staley said.
She revealed that this was something Paopao had been working hard on recently, saying:
"One of her affirmations was, 'I want to do a better job picking up and pressuring the basketball.' When you're able to see it come to fruition, she's going to be a better basketball player."
Touching on her possibly being selected in the 2025 WNBA Draft considering it's her last year of college hoops, Staley expressed:
"I know her stock went up from a WNBA standpoint because of what she did today picking that ball up."
Currently in the 2024-2025 season, Paopao is displaying her two-way prowess with 14.2 points, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals. If she keeps up her versatile play, she can expect to see her WNBA draft stock rise further.
Dawn Staley says it's a privilege to have Paopao, Johnson and McDaniel
Before commending Paopao, Staley also tipped her hat off to her other facilitating guards, Raven Johnson and Maddie McDaniel. She discussed how important it is to their team success to have the three playing off each other while sharing the same position:
"When you have three pretty darn good point guards, you really can't go wrong. Pao, Raven, now Maddie, they do a great job at picking up where the other one left off. Or, if the other one is not having that type of game, they can see it and fill in for each other," Staley said.
The three-guard rotation will be back in action on Saturday, Nov. 30, against the Purdue Boilmakers in the as they look to propel the Gamecocks upwards in the Southeastern division.
Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma, or Kim Mulkey - who is NCAAW's highest-paid coach? Find out here