It would be easy to argue that this season has been a bit of an inconsistent one for South Carolina guard MiLaysia Fulwiley. Most of her statistics are the same or slightly lower than what they were a year ago, when the freshman guard broke out and won the SEC Tournament MVP. Some might say that Fulwiley hasn’t blossomed into a star in her sophomore season the way that other players in her class have, like USC’s JuJu Watkins or Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo.
But every now and then, Fulwiley reminds everyone that she can do things on the court that nobody else can because of her jaw-dropping athleticism and slick handles. Remember last season when she drew praise from Magic Johnson?
Thursday night in Columbia, South Carolina, was another example that Fulwiley possesses otherworldly basketball talents.
The sixth-ranked Gamecocks bounced back emphatically from their loss on Sunday to UConn with a dominant 95-55 win over visiting Arkansas. A look at the box score shows that Fulwiley played pretty well in 20 minutes off the bench, collecting 15 points, four rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block.
What the stat sheet doesn’t show is this wildly impressive play:
Yes y’all, that was an alley-oop.
And Fulwiley followed that up by doing this during a fast break:
Past two defenders, around the back, up into the hoop.
How many players in the country are capable of doing that in the run of play?
Fulwiley’s coach, three-time national champion Dawn Staley, interjected during the sophomore’s interview on the SEC Network to describe the alley-oop play in a way that only she could: “Nasty work!”
Fulwiley’s highlight-worthy plays made her the star of the night in the SEC. It’s the ninth time this season she’s scored at least 15 points or more, and it feels like it would be too tall of a task to count how many times her playmaking skills have been plastered on social media.
After the game, the 5-foot-10 South Carolina native – who has an NIL deal with Steph Curry’s Curry Brand – credited her mindset for her head-turning performance.
“I was very confident compared to how confident I’ve been in the past,” Fulwiley told Gamecock Scoop. “A lot of layups were falling for me, and I was just excited. It made me feel good about taking more layups, and my teammates pushed me through and gave me that confidence and that boost I needed.”
Fulwiley’s teammate, freshman Joyce Edwards, continues to be wowed every time she sees the guard show off her combination of hops, speed, instinct and shot-making ability.
“It’s just mind-blowing because you don’t see that every day. You don’t see nobody doing that,” Edwards said. “I feel like that’s what makes Lay special.”
Indeed, there is only one MiLaysia Fulwiley. And because of the talent and depth that this South Carolina team has, Staley has the luxury of bringing her off the bench.
Over her last 10 games, Fulwiley is averaging 13.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game. And if the Gamecocks have hopes of repeating as SEC and national champions, they’ll need Fulwiley to keep playing her best basketball.
