Joyce Edwards, Raven Johnson shine as No. 2 South Carolina gets statement early-season win over No. 8 USC

LOS ANGELES, California -- No. 2 South Carolina succeeded in its first big test of the season with a 69-52 win over No. 8 USC on Saturday at the iconic Crypto.com Arena. Like many other teams across the nation, the Gamecocks are working on finding their identity after the departure of key players. It is still just the middle of November, but this win was a significant step in the right direction. 

"We have four new starters. We have probably seven players that have to play a different role for us than they had to play at their previous school or with us," said South Carolina coach Dawn Staley on Saturday. "It's hard. We are used to having a core group of players playing together for a long time. Raven (Johnson) is basically the lone person that has been a part of that regime that we had, that core group of players that we had for four, five years. So she's got to take on a big responsibility."

It's not an easy transition, but the Gamecocks have managed a 4-0 start while still adjusting. Staley has guided the program to five consecutive Final Fours, and the way for South Carolina to make another deep run in March is to build a strong foundation now.

Joyce Edwards is the motor

One of the most obvious observations when watching South Carolina is just how good Edwards is. She had a stellar freshman season and seems to be carrying that momentum into her sophomore year. She is currently leading the team's offense with 18 points per game while also averaging almost seven rebounds per contest.

She completed a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds against USC, while also adding four assists, two steals and two blocks. But as USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb pointed out, one of the most impressive part of Edwards' game is her motor. There was one point during the game when she lost a shoe and still continued to play.

Staley said it all comes from the work she puts in, as well just trusting the process.

"Joyce has worked really hard all of her life for these moments," Staley said. "She's a year older and you can see the experience kicking in. Like, she trusts her work. She trusts the work that she puts in behind closed doors when nobody is looking. Good, bad or indifferent, she trusts that part of what she brings to the table. She's a total crash out on both sides of the ball, and I mean that in the most affectionate way."

Raven Johnson offers more than just scoring

Johnson also had a complete performance against the Trojans with 14 points on 50% shooting and 11 rebounds to complete the double-double. She looked confident against a tough opponent, and that was the kind of performance the coaching staff expects from the fifth-year guard.

During the preseason, Staley talked about how she wanted Johnson to be more selfish and assertive. Her defense has been solid, but last season she averaged a career-low 4.9 points while shooting just 35% from the field and 29.5% from 3-point range. That being said, those stats don't tell the full story and Staley said it is "disheartening" when Johnson's impact in other areas gets minimized. 

The coach pointed out that Johnson has only lost 11 games since 2017, extending back to her high-school years.

"Evelen. Eleven," Staley said. "And we want to talk about can she score or not? Yes, she can score. She really can score. But when it comes down to winning, she makes the right plays. Whether that's scoring, whether that's defending, whether that's rebounding. Whether that's getting other people involved. I love Raven.... When you think about a winner, when you think about a consummate point guard, Raven is that."

Madina Okot has a lot of potential

On Saturday night, South Carolina winning the rebounding battle 56-32. Okot was responsible for 15 of those, including 10 in the first half. As a reminder, this is the same player who had 23 rebounds against Vanderbilt last season. 

The 6-foot-6 former Mississippi State center has started all four games for South Carolina so far and is averaging 10.8 points and 10.5 rebounds. Her game is not perfect and sometimes she makes avoidable mistakes, such as getting called for two travels on Saturday. After the first game of the season, Staley said the team was going to need her to be dominant and do "a little more" than what she was doing. However, the coach is seeing improvement and liked what she saw against USC.

"I'm going to give a lot of credit to Medina, who just really controlled the paint," Staley said. "She was where we needed her to be time and time again. And she needed it just from a confidence standpoint of knowing that we need her and knowing that she can execute a game plan. I think she is part of us finding our identity because we usually are led by our bigs."

Her teammates also believe in what she can do. Raven Johnson is her roommate and affectionately calls her a "big polar bear." 

"She is sweet and loving, but on the court, she is a force to be reckoned with," Johnson said.