COLUMBIA – Ashlyn Watkins probably isn’t used to having her dunks blocked.

The sophomore forward went viral for a dunk earlier this season against Kentucky, but her attempt Saturday to dunk a balloon on South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley didn’t quite go down before popping against a light.

Ahead of the No. 1 seed Gamecocks’ second round NCAA Tournament matchup with No. 8 seed North Carolina (20-12) on Sunday (1 p.m., ABC) in Colonial Life Arena, South Carolina’s locker room was loose, loud and full of balloons.

“It’s who they are,” Staley said. “A team will take on its own personality, and as much as coaches want to change that, that’s who they’re going to be. I didn’t spend a whole lot of time trying to change that.”

That’s the type of environment the Gamecocks (33-0) have upheld all season, which led to Staley calling the locker room "day care" after they capped off a 29-0 regular season by beating Tennessee on March 3.

The Gamecocks messed around with balloons for most of the open locker room period in South Carolina’s practice day between games on Saturday. Junior guard Bree Hall accidentally bought happy birthday balloons for South Carolina’s senior day, so the Gamecocks didn’t use them to decorate lockers. They blew them up Saturday instead to mess around.

The players tried to dunk on Staley, who said she blocked the shot.

“They try to get me to be the brunt of the joke, but not I,” Staley said.

Staley said coaching a team as loose as this one is both refreshing and frustrating. The coaching staff tried to focus the players earlier in the season but stopped when they recognized it was the team’s personality.

“They don’t know when they’re coming or going,” Staley said. “For us, as a staff, we want them to just go, to be focused on the task at hand. The way they get to that point is hilarious to them and frustrating to us. Eventually they get to where we need them to be, they just take a longer route.”

Staley said South Carolina doesn’t lock in until the ball is tipped to start the game.

Despite any mounting outside pressure as a perfect season gets closer and closer, the loose environment shows the pressure inside the locker room hasn’t built up.

“We just go out there and play our game knowing who we are and that we’re going to get the dub at the end of the day,” guard Te-Hina Paopao said after beating Tennessee to end the regular season. “It’s no pressure at all. We just love to play with each other.”

SOUTH CAROLINA'S DOMINANCE: Would 38-0 make South Carolina a dynasty? Dawn Staley says Lady Vols under Pat Summitt provide the answer

The Gamecocks will get senior center Kamilla Cardoso back for Sunday’s game after she served a one-game suspension and are expected to return Hall, who missed Friday’s game for precautionary reasons.

Cardoso said she watched South Carolina’s win Friday against Presbyterian alone in the locker room, which was tough. The Gamecocks played two games this season while Cardoso was with Team Brazil in an Olympic qualifying event and two more while she rested in February.

“It was a little weird because I’m used to being out there with them,” Cardoso said. “I was happy watching them because I think some players did some great things. … We worked hard in case one player is missing, somebody else can step up, and that’s what they did.”

Evan Gerike covers South Carolina women's basketball for the Greenville News. Email him at egerike@citizentimes.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanGerike.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: South Carolina dunking on Dawn Staley might help win national championship