Oregon transfer Te-Hina Paopao commits to Dawn Staley, South Carolina women's basketball

COLUMBIA — South Carolina women's basketball picked up its first transfer portal commitment of 2023 from junior guard Te-Hina Paopao, who played the last three seasons at Oregon.

Paopao, a 5-foot-9 California native, was the No. 11 prospect in the nation coming out of high school in 2020. She was named to the All-Pac-12 freshman team in 2021 and earned first team honors in 2022. Last season she was the Ducks' No. 3 scorer averaging 13.1 points per game plus 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

Paopao's biggest strength is her 3-point shooting. In 2022-23, she ranked No. 14 in the nation in 3-point percentage hitting 42.4% beyond the arc. She averaged 2.3 3-pointers per game and also led Oregon in free-throw shooting, making 88% at the line.

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The Gamecocks lacked a consistent outside shooting threat last season, a problem that came to a head in their Final Four loss to Iowa and long-range sharpshooter Caitlin Clark. The team averaged 31% from 3-point range on the season and hit just 20% against the Hawkeyes. In 2023-24 South Carolina's top returning 3-point shooter will be Bree Hall, who made 36% of her 64 attempts.

Oregon went 20-15 in 2022-23 but missed the NCAA Tournament after losing to Stanford in the Pac-12 tournament. The Ducks reached the Great Eight in the WNIT, where they eventually fell to Washington. Paopao was the team's leading scorer over its four WNIT games averaging 17.5 points per game.

South Carolina finished with a program-best 36-1 record this season and reached its third consecutive Final Four, where it suffered its first and only loss to Iowa. The Gamecocks graduated seven seniors including the entire starting lineup and returns just four players that averaged at least 10 minutes per game in 2022-23. Paopao is primarily a point guard and could rotate at the position with SEC all-freshman team selection Raven Johnson, but she could also transition to shooting guard to replace this season's leading scorer Zia Cooke.

The Gamecocks have been selective in the transfer portal over the last several seasons, but players they have added have been high-impact. Junior Kamilla Cardoso, who transferred from Syracuse in 2021, was the SEC Sixth Woman of the Year and is the team's top returning scorer and rebounder next season. Kierra Fletcher, a graduate transfer from Georgia Tech, was South Carolina's starting point guard in 2022-23.

South Carolina is also targeting DePaul transfer Aneesah Morrow, one of the best offensive players in the country last season. Morrow named the Gamecocks to her top 3 destinations alongside LSU and Southern California.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Oregon transfer Te-Hina Paopao commits to South Carolina, Dawn Staley