COLUMBIA — It's been almost two years since Ashlyn Watkins played a game for South Carolina women's basketball, but she made her return on Oct. 23, as the No. 1 ranked Gamecocks beat Benedict 113-34 in an exhibition game.

Watkins tore her ACL in January 2025, then took the entire 2025-26 season off. Kitts tore her ACL in October 2025, also missing all of last season.

"They haven't really played in a long time and they looked a little rusty," Staley said. "But the more and more rust that they knock off, the better they're going to be. So it was good to have them to put in the game."

Had neither torn their ACLs, both would be in the WNBA by now.

"Chloe and I were in warmups and we were talking, (saying) 'Wow this is a little weird,'" senior guard Tessa Johnson said. "I mean they weren't supposed to be here for my last year, but they are here and I know they're ready and we're excited."

Watkins finished with eight points and 10 rebounds in 16 minutes. Kitts had eight points and seven rebounds in 12 minutes.

Neither played in the 91-60 exhibition win over College of Charleston on Sept. 27. The season opener is in Paris, France, on Nov. 2 (noon ET, ESPN) against Maryland. It's the first of eight non-conference games against a team ranked in the preseason Top 25.

Jerzy Robinson says playing for South Carolina is a 'dream'

In freshman Jerzy Robinson's college debut, she and Johnson both finished with a game-high 17 points.

Robinson added a game-high 11 rebounds for a double-double with five assists and two steals.

"Playing for South Carolina is a dream," Robinson said. "So I got the utmost motivation, excitement and I'm excited to play with my teammates every night."

With no true point guard on the roster, Staley is using multiple combo guards to run the offense. Robinson didn't play in the first exhibition game but against Benedict, she played 25 minutes. She dabbled in sharing the ball and playing off to the wing but especially in the fourth quarter was running the offense for the second and third units.

"I like what Jerzy was doing," Staley said. "Jerzy is someone that has big-game capability. Had a big game tonight, did it a lot of different ways. Obviously can score the basketball, I do think she has the intellect to play the (point) and embrace it and bring a different dimension to it that we don't have on our team."

Staley highlighted her work on the boards and ability to not turn the ball over, finishing with just one.

"I mean she's a work in progress, but if she gets just being able to spot a lot more at the point guard position I do think she makes us a better team," Staley said.

Why Adhel Tac didn't play vs Benedict

Kaeli Wynn was the only player Staley ruled out 24 hours before tipoff because she has been dealing with knee injuries that kept her out her entire senior high school season.

But senior forward Adhel Tac also didn't play.

"Adhel had a migraine so we didn't really want to put her out there and make it worse," Staley said. "But we got a good amount of people in the game and we saw some really good plays. A small sample size of what we feel like people could bring to the table."