Dawn Staley explains why she sat star MiLaysia Fulwiley for much of South Carolina win vs Indiana.

COLUMBIA — South Carolina women’s basketball sophomore star MiLaysia Fulwiley averages 19.3 minutes per game this season but on Sunday, she played just 10.

In the 64-53 win over No. 9 seed Indiana (20-13) in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Fulwiley played the third-fewest minutes on the Gamecocks (32-3) and played her third fewest all season. The last time Fulwiley played less than 17 minutes was on Jan. 27 against Tennessee (nine).

Coach Dawn Staley explained why.

“No, no,” Staley said when asked if there was anything going on with Fulwiley. “I thought she got off to a slow start then it was hard, we had good combinations in and usually it’s Fulwiley out there. It just didn’t happen today. I thought she handled it well, she wants to play, we need her to play, we need her to play well and it wasn’t anything besides just units out there playing better.”

With the win, South Carolina advances to the Sweet 16 to play either No. 4 Maryland or No. 5 Alabama on Friday at either 2:30 or 5 p.m. ET (ESPN) in Birmingham, Alabama.

Fulwiley, who averages 12.1 points, finished with three points, two steals, one rebound, one block and one assist in her 10 minutes. She came off the bench with 4:16 to play in the first quarter and less than 30 seconds later got a steal but missed the proceeding jumper. She finished out the opening quarter on the court and picked up another steal, dished an assist and got a block, which kept her on the court to start the second.

She turned the ball over with 9:25 left in the second quarter and then subbed out by the nine-minute mark, not returning to the game again until 3:01 left in the third.

Bree Hall and Te-Hina Paopao, the two guards who Fulwiley normally subs in for, led the team. Hall had a team-high 11 points and Paopao had a team-high four blocks, and according to Staley, were huge in the comeback win.

After checking in to close the third, Fulwiley subbed back out with 8:31 left in the game and didn’t go back in.

When Paopao hit a critical 3-pointer with 4:45 left in the game, Fulwiley was the first person on the bench to get up and celebrate.