What drove Ashlyn Watkins’ career game at Auburn? ‘I just felt like my team needed me’

On the eve of South Carolina’s game at Auburn, Ashlyn Watkins found out she would be making her first career start.

Chloe Kitts, who usually starts at the four-spot for the Gamecocks, stayed behind with an illness. Watkins would have to step up. That was that. No time to overthink or change her preparation.

Warm up at Neville Arena Thursday night felt like any other. No inkling of what could come, good or bad. Just meandering through her usual pregame routine.

“It felt normal,” Watkins said. “I wasn’t nervous. I wasn’t overthinking it. It was just like another game to me.”

Then the game tipped off. Within minutes, seconds, Watkins had asserted herself as one of the best players on the court for South Carolina. She finished the first half two points shy of a double-double, with 8 points and 10 rebounds. Six of her rebounds came in the first five minutes of the game.

Watkins finished the night with an SEC-career-high of 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds -- her fourth double-double of the season -- plus five blocks and three steals. She helped power the No. 1 Gamecocks (20-0, 8-0 SEC) to a 76-54 win over the Tigers.

“Ashlyn’s a star for us,” coach Dawn Staley said. “I wasn’t surprised. I think she’s shown us that she’s pretty talented and extraordinary. A good rebounder. She put some points on the scoreboard for us. And she really was a monster out on defense.”

When asked about her standout performance, Watkins responded pretty nonchalant. She’s not one to boast or talk her partner in conversation into oblivion. The on-court product speaks for itself.

She did offer insight into what driving forces lied behind her key performance, though. The Gamecocks’ slow start (leading by 5 points in the first half and shooting a startling 28.6% from the field) pushed her to contribute as much as possible on both ends of the court.

“I just felt like my team needed me. It was close at first, and I was like, ‘Oh, I could have got that rebound. Oh, I could have got that and put it back up.’ So I just like told my mind to just do it, go out there.”

Heading into Thursday night’s game, Watkins had played the most minutes of any South Carolina reserve in four of USC’s seven SEC games, exceeding 23 minutes four times (at UF, versus Mississippi State, at Missouri and versus Vanderbilt). She saw a season-high 31 minutes of action Thursday and said afterward that playing more has enhanced her confidence.

Freshman guard MiLaysia Fulwiley, who played against Watkins (a sophomore) when both All-Americans were in high school in Columbia, had an impressive 15-point outing. She lauded Watkins performance and work ethic.

“She’s a dog. She practices like that. She plays like that all day. So I feel like she knows it’s in her, so when she goes out there she puts it all on and it just shows. She’s unstoppable.

“It makes me feel more relief knowing that I got a good post player who can get any rebound that I put up and go up back strong. If I throw her the ball, she’s gonna go out of her way to catch it. She’s not just gonna let me get a turnover. So just knowing you got somebody like her are on the block, it just helps a lot.”