Dawn Staley and MiLaysia Fulwiley (Image credit: IMAGN)

South Carolina star MiLaysia Fulwiley was devastated after being removed from the game as Dawn Staley’s team suffered a historic loss to the UCLA Bruins on Sunday.

It was a night where everything went wrong for the Gamecocks. From the opening tip, they struggled to find their rhythm against the Bruins who came out firing on all cylinders.

South Carolina found themselves in a double-digit deficit early on and despite their effort to mount a comeback, it wasn’t enough. At the final buzzer, UCLA won 77-62, ending the Gamecocks’ 43-game winning streak.

MiLaysia Fulwiley, a sophomore guard, had a forgettable night, marked by a moment when coach Dawn Staley pulled her from the game just three minutes after she had been subbed in, reducing her to tears.

“MiLaysia is crashing out on the bench right now (in tears) and Jolette and Khadijah had to console her a bit,” one X user wrote.

Fulwiley was barely in the game. She came in for Bree Hall in the first quarter but scored zero points. Fulwiley missed a layup, followed by a turnover, and missed another layup before Staley took her out and didn’t sub her back in for the rest of the game.

Some Gamecocks fans weren’t pleased with Staley’s decision to pull Fulwiley so quickly and with her limited playing time this season, despite her strong performances.

“Dawn Staley is too scared of a few turnovers to play her best player Milaysia Fulwiley. No wonder great guards never come out of South Carolina,” one X user tweeted.

Slow start dooms Dawn Staley’s South Carolina against UCLA

Another night, same old story for Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks, as their slow starts to games continue. While they overcame it in previous matches, South Carolina’s inability to come out of the gates strong proved costly against Big Ten powerhouse UCLA.

They trailed by 10 points in the first quarter and found themselves down by 18 by the half, only to mount a second-half comeback attempt that fell short.

“We’re in transition from having a dominant big to not having a dominant big, and figuring out how we can incorporate our bigs (into) scoring the basketball,” Staley said postgame. “We’ve got to get comfortable with it. Our bigs have to get comfortable with doing it a little bit differently.”

Poor starts have become a disturbing trend for the defending champions. On Wednesday against Clemson, South Carolina was behind 11-10 in the first quarter. In its season opener against Michigan, the team had a hard time getting a lead in the first half.