Gamecocks Face Southern, Missing Key Players

0:00On March 20, South Carolina's number one seeded Gamecocks face number 16 seed, southern in the first four of the women's NCAA tournament on. Saturday, but they might be short two players. Coach Don Staley said sophomore guard Maddie McDaniel missed Friday's practice due to illness, though she's hopeful the guard will recover with extra. Rest, sophomore forward, Ad Hel Tak also set out practice, still nursing a lower leg injury. She's been in a boot and missed the team's last 10 games, with her most recent appearance back on February 5 against Mississippi State. Even without those two, the gamecocks remain massive favorites, projected as 50 point picks with a 100% win chance according to analytics. No number 16 seed has ever beaten the number one seed in the tournament except once. Other players showed positive signs too. Guard Tania Latson practice without her usual left knee brace and star forward Joyce Edwards wore a shoulder wrap, but fully participated in, trails.

1:01We'll know more from the official NCAA player availability reports, starting tonight at 9pm and again, two hours before tip-off at South Carolina rolls toward another deep run.