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Why Bree Hall’s breakout vs North Carolina is crucial for South Carolina women’s basketball

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Why Bree Hall’s breakout vs North Carolina is crucial for South Carolina women’s basketball


CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Bree Hall wasn’t aiming for a block when she squared up against North Carolina’s Alyssa Ustby in the paint Thursday.

Hall struggled to articulate what was going through her mind in that moment, which resulted in a critical turnover for South Carolina (6-0). She doesn’t remember leaving her feet to make the block, but it prevented the Tar Heels from scoring the game-tying layup with less than four minutes left in the ACC/SEC Challenge game.

“I don’t know what really happened honestly. I feel like I haven’t had a block like that since high school,” Hall said with a laugh. “I watched the clip in the locker room and I could tell I was trying to take a charge, and then all of a sudden I just jumped. I was like, oh, that’s something new!”

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South Carolina women’s basketball played its worst game in a long time in a 65-58 win Thursday over North Carolina (5-3) at Carmichael Arena, but Hall had easily her best game of the season. The junior guard finished with a team-high 15 points, shooting 5 of 6 from the field and 3 of 4 from 3-point range.

Hall was also a force defensively for the Gamecocks, spending the majority of the game guarding North Carolina star Deja Kelly. Although Kelly still scored 20 points, just 13 of those came from field goals, and Hall kept her to a highly inefficient 6-of-16 shooting. Kelly had a single assist and zero rebounds before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

“It builds me and motivates me to know this is my assignment and I’ve just got to complete the assignment to get the win for my team,” Hall said. “I wanted this badly. I’m very proud of myself honestly . . . I knew I was going to have a tough offensive player, and knowing I’ve had a stretch of not the best games in my opinion, it was just go out there like I need to prove myself that I can do this.”

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The Gamecocks have leaned heavily on Te-Hina Paopao to be their sharpshooter when others aren’t hitting — and they weren’t against the Tar Heels. The team made just 34.5% from the field in the first half and hit a single 3-pointer, courtesy of Paopao. But the Oregon transfer finished just 5-of-14 from the field, well below her average of 54.1%.

Hall had an underwhelming start to the season, averaging 7.4 points, shooting 31% from the field and 23% on 3-pointers across the previous six games. Seeing her step up amid adversity in a hostile environment is a big deal, adding yet another layer to the team’s depth.

Although South Carolina often has leaned on weapons off the bench, Hall was one of four starters to play at least 33 minutes against the Tar Heels. She proved that among the starting group, there is no weak link: All five are capable of taking shots on at least two levels. Any of them can score 15-plus points. Any of them can chase down a block. It makes the Gamecocks practically impossible to contain, at least for a full 40 minutes.

“Bree’s been working. She’s wanted a performance like this on both sides of the basketball,” coach Dawn Staley said. “I thought she did a magnificent job, especially on their middle ball-screen action with the communication . . . She hit a big, big shot for us. I’m super happy for her, and I hope she can bottle this up and play this way for the rest of the season.”

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Follow South Carolina women’s basketball reporter Emily Adams on X @eaadams6 and subscribe to The Greenville News for exclusive Gamecocks content: https://subscribe.greenvilleonline.com/offers.

Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.





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South Carolina football recruiting profiles: Malik Clark

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South Carolina football recruiting profiles: Malik Clark


South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer and his coaching staff have less than three weeks before National Signing Day. (Remember when recruits signed in February?) The Early Signing Period begins Wednesday, December 4th, and the majority of teams’ high school recruiting classes will be completed by the time the Early Signing Period ends on Friday, December 6th. In the weeks leading up to NSD, GamecockCentral will profile each player in the 2025 recruiting class. Today, we will look at wide receiver Malik Clark.

Malik Clark (4-star, Wide Receiver6’2.5″, 180 pounds)

What the rankings say: 4-star in On3 industry rankings, No. 177 nationally, No. 2 in South Carolina, No. 23 among all wide receivers; Malik Clark is a consensus 4-star prospect

[See the Gamecock discussion on The Insiders Forum!]

Malik Clark is a stud. The Rock Hill High School product is everything a coach could want in a wide receiver. He’s fast (clocked in the 10.5 range in the 100-meter and 4.35 in the 40-yard dash). He’s big (listed at 6’2.5″ and 180 pounds with a frame that could hold more weight). And he’s got ridiculous hands (check out the catch at this line).

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Clark is a consensus 4-star prospect for a reason. He is extremely talented, and it’s not all just future potential; he’s already really good. Before the playoffs even began, Clark put together the first 1000-yard receiving season in Rock Hill High history this season.

The type of receiver who can develop into “the man” on the outside, Clark can beat defense deep but has enough wiggle in his bag to be a factor in the quick game or in the short-to-intermediate passing game, as well. He is fast, but he also plays with real physicality. He excels at winning contested catches and bouncing off of weak tackle attempts.

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Clark’s combination of size and speed will make him a special teams candidate as soon as he steps on campus. However, he’s good enough that he might play immediately on offense. Playing time will be available for the Gamecocks at wide receiver in 2025. With at least three players leaving via graduation, youngsters like Clark could force their way onto the field. In fact, it seems likely that at least one of the freshmen will earn significant early playing time. It could be the in-state standout.

Clark is one of five receiver commitments in the South Carolina football recruiting class of 2025, along with Jayden Sellers, Brian Rowe, Lex Cyrus, and Jordon Gidron. With a chance of adding another name, this year’s haul of pass-catchers is one of the best in the country.

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[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Wofford football game]

You can watch some of Clark’s film below.



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Top 2027 signal-caller recaps 'perfect' couple of days at South Carolina

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Top 2027 signal-caller recaps 'perfect' couple of days at South Carolina


Jupiter (Fla.) Spanish River quarterback Champ Smith is one of only a handful of quarterbacks in the 2027 class with an offer offer from South Carolina and the 6-foot-1, 175-pound signal caller was in Columbia over the weekend to get an in-depth look at the program as it took down Missouri in a thriller.



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South Carolina just outside top 12 in ESPN FPI rankings

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South Carolina just outside top 12 in ESPN FPI rankings


South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer has his Gamecocks at 7-3 and ranked in the top 20. Both the AP Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll dropped on Sunday, USC is No. 19 in each ranking. The College Football Playoff Rankings will be updated on Tuesday, and Carolina will be in the top 20 there, too.

However, the ESPN FPI (Football Power Index) has been higher on the Gamecocks for a while. In fact, the latest FPI update slotted South Carolina just outside of College Football Playoff territory.

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Based on ESPN’s FPI rankings, the Gamecocks are the 13th-best team in college football.

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The move to 13th is just a one-spot jump for South Carolina. However, with an upcoming matchup against No. 12 (Clemson) and several top teams having to play each other (Indiana vs. Ohio State, etc.), the small step closer to the top 12 represents hope. Making the College Football Playoff is still a bit of a longshot, but the odds are shortening.

The Gamecocks’ No. 13 ranking stems from a nice combination of efficiency numbers. According to ESPN, strong recent play has bumped USC to No. 46 nationally in offensive efficiency. South Carolina ranks 5th in ESPN’s defensive efficiency metric. Special teams isn’t weighted as heavily, but the Gamecocks are 70th. Because of those numbers, Carolina is 17th in the ESPN FPI overall efficiency.

With the update, the FPI gives the garnet and black a much better chance of a great season. The predictive model now projects a final record of 8.4-3.6. South Carolina has won at least nine games in a season just seven times. They’ve won at least 10 games in just four seasons; those years were 1984, 2011, 2012, and 2013. Reaching both the 9-win and 10-win thresholds are on the table.

Based on ESPN’s percentages, the Gamecocks have a 41.9% chance to win their remaining regular season games. That includes a 99% chance to knock off Wofford and then a 42% chance to beat the rival Clemson Tigers. The outlet also gives Carolina a 10.9% chance to win out AND make the College Football Playoff at 9-3. Even if they don’t make the 12-team field, USC should find themselves in a nice bowl game this winter.

[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Wofford football game]

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Because they are an FCS team, the Wofford Terriers are unranked in the FPI. However, the Spartanburg-based squad is 5-6 on the season and 3-5 in SoCon play.

Saturday will be South Carolina’s final home contest of the season, and the Gamecocks and Terriers will kick off at 4:00 p.m. Fans not in attendance will have to stream the game on ESPN+ or SEC Network+.



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