Is Paopao the missing key in South Carolina's NCAA title run? - ESPN

Te-Hina Paopao has driven South Carolina women's basketball to an undefeated season and the brink of another Final Four, but the senior almost didn't end up in Columbia.

As she entered the transfer portal in the spring of 2023 and searched for a new home following her third season at Oregon, TCU seemed a logical choice for the 5-foot-9 point guard. She would have reunited with first-year Horned Frogs coach Mark Campbell, who had recruited her to Eugene during his stint as Oregon's associate head coach.

«I originally was gonna go to TCU,» Paopao told ESPN.

One phone call from coach Dawn Staley, and an ensuing visit to Columbia, changed everything — not just for Paopao but also for the Gamecocks.

Top-ranked and top-seeded South Carolina is 34-0, has a new look and is arguably better than ever. Through it all, Paopao has been a bastion of veteran leadership, elevating the Gamecocks' offense to another level and hitting clutch shots in big moments.

The transfer is a major reason South Carolina has emerged as one of the top 3-point-shooting teams in the country — a far cry from the Gamecocks' 4-for-20 performance beyond the arc in the loss to Iowa in the 2023 national semifinals — making her the missing piece that might take the Gamecocks from vulnerable to unstoppable.

As Staley's squad chases the program's third national championship — a quest that resumes Friday (5 p.m. ET, ESPN) in the women's NCAA tournament when No. 1 seed South Carolina faces 4-seed Indiana in the Sweet 16 in Albany — the best could be yet to come for Paopao. And after announcing earlier this month that she's returning next season for her final year of eligibility, she can help South Carolina remain the juggernaut that hasn't lost in nearly a year.

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