COLUMBIA — South Carolina women’s basketball trailed 44-43 in the third quarter when freshman Agot Makeer drove into a sea of Texas players.
Her shot dropped in as she fell to the floor, celebrating at the sound of the whistle that gave her a foul shot to make a 3-point play.
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The atmosphere in the 68-65 win was familiar for coach Dawn Staley and most of the No. 2 Gamecocks (18-1, 5-0 SEC).
But for Makeer, it was her first big game. In her first top-5 matchup she scored eight of the nine bench points in only 13 minutes of action.
“As a freshman I think her IQ is above and beyond,” starting point guard Raven Johnson said. ” I haven’t seen a freshman like her that knows the game of basketball like (she does).”
Staley’s starters all finished with 10 points or more, but against a defense as difficult as Texas, Staley needed some life off the bench to strengthen her offense but also give her guards a break.
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When starting guard Ta’Niya Latson missed three games from Jan. 1-8 with an ankle sprain, Makeer started in her place. Latson was a massive part of why South Carolina pulled ahead of the No. 4 Longhorns (18-2, 3-2), scoring 12 points, which made Makeer’s minutes that more valuable.
Down 32-25 in the second quarter, Makeer worked a give-and-go with forward Joyce Edwards to score a simple yet effective jumper to stop a scoring drought.
Texas is fueled by star forward Madison Booker, so whoever had to guard her with Johnson off the floor couldn’t let her get easy shots. As South Carolina wanted offense from Makeer, her defense had to excel, too.
Not even a minute later, Makeer forced Booker to dribble back into a corner. Latson read Booker’s panic pass perfectly and because of Makeer’s pressure, Latson sprinted the floor for a layup.
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“She wants to win too and she’s a sponge. She’s always asking me questions,” Johnson said of Makeer. “On defense, she’s long and hard to get around her.”
Staley says freshmen aren’t treated as first-year players and instead blend in with the expectation that they’re just like everyone else.
“Gotti (Makeer) is reliable, that’s a big word to say when it comes to a freshman but she’s been through some things,” Staley said. “She’s got great game experience … I’m proud of her because probably, maybe a month ago she probably thought she’d never play and when you think you’re never going to play, then something else enters your brain.”
Makeer had her own injury before Latson went down, entering concussion protocol around Dec. 3 and didn’t play again until Dec. 28. Once she finally hit the floor, she went from reserve to starter with Latson gone.
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“Happy for her, didn’t play a whole whole lot but the time she was on the floor she really made it impactful,” Staley said.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at LKesin@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky@bylulukesin.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina freshman Agot Makeer finds big moments vs Texas
