Last year, the South Carolina women’s basketball team out-rebounded opponents by 12.6 boards per game and gave up no more than 17 offensive rebounds in a game.

During Monday night’s 2024-25 season opener in Las Vegas?

In a 68-62 win over Michigan at T-Mobile Arena, the Gamecocks were plus-0 in the rebound margin ... and they allowed Michigan to grab 20 offensive boards.

A win’s a win, but preseason No. 1 USC got an early lesson on what life’s going to be like without star center Kamilla Cardoso, whose 6-foot-7 presence down low was a weapon by itself on offense and defense for last year’s undefeated champs.

Now Cardoso, the team’s leading scorer last year and the 2024 Final Four Most Outstanding Player, is in the WNBA. And coach Dawn Staley admits the players tasked with replacing her still have some growing to do.

It’s a challenge she welcomes.

“Obviously we’ve got some players that have to make adjustments to certain roles on our basketball team, and that takes a little bit of time,” Staley said postgame after USC’s win in the Hall of Fame Series event.

Cardoso was a mainstay down low for USC for three years, especially so last year in her first and only as a full-time starters. Without one of women’s college basketball’s tallest players for the first time in three years on Monday, South Carolina did some tinkering to make things work.

Staley started junior forwards Chloe Kitts and Sania Feagin at the team’s two forward spots. By the end of the game, freshman forward Joyce Edwards was in Feagin’s spot.

Kitts finished with a team-high 19 points and 14 rebounds in 31 minutes, while Edwards had 10 points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes, the most of any forward on the team outside of Kitts.

Feagin ended up playing 11 minutes with two points and zero rebounds, and Arkansas transfer forward Maryam Dauda wasn’t a factor with zero points in four minutes off the bench.

“I saw a little bit of a lack of experience, even for our experienced players,” Staley said. “It’s different roles for them. For Feagin, it’s a different role. She’s used to coming off the bench and now she’s starting. That role’s a lot different. … You’ve gotta perform. We’ve gotta know what we’re getting from our starters.”

No team’s going to play perfect defense every night. But South Carolina’s struggles down low were noticeable — and gave USC a lot of room for improvement, especially when they go on to play teams with elite post players.

Michigan on Monday night started five guards, the tallest being 6-3, and still was able to clean up on the offensive glass and score plenty of points in the paint.

Freshman Wolverines guard Syla Swords (game-high 27 points) and veteran Jordan Hobbs (19 points) led the charge as Michigan went at the Gamecocks hard on drive after drive. The Wolverines recorded 24 points in the paint in the first half while out-rebounding USC 26-25 and grabbing 11 offensive rebounds.

USC players said Cardoso’s absence led to a different feel on the floor, both offensively and defensively. Those defensive struggles were magnified by a cold shooting first half in which the Gamecocks were just 3 of 17 (17.6%) on 3-pointers.

“It’s a really big difference,” Kitts said. “I’ve never played with someone like Kamilla. It was awesome playing with her. ... That presence is missing. I mean, she grabbed boards for us. She put up all of those points for us.”

Added guard Tessa Johnson: “Kamilla was very dominant down there. If we were struggling, we could honestly just throw it up there and she would rebound or make a shot or get fouled. When she was out there, it would calm us down a little bit.”

So, how does South Carolina supplement Cardoso’s production and stay strong in categories that have defined Staley’s best teams — things like defense, rebounding margin and points in the paint?

USC gave some hints during a second half in which it outscored Michigan in both quarters and 31-24 in total. Edwards played 13 of a possible 20 minutes alongside Kitts, while Feagin and Dauda combined to play nine minutes.

Redshirt freshman center Adhel Tac (the tallest player on the roster at 6-5) got some action, too, and grabbed three rebounds in five minutes.

The final rebounding margin (52 to 52) was even, but USC pulled ahead in offensive rebounding (22 to 20) and points in the paint (36 to 28).

Mix those efforts in with an improved shooting second half, and the Gamecocks went from down a point at halftime to winning by six.

“We just need to come together,” said Kitts, who set career highs in points (19) and rebounds (14) against Power 4 competition. “All of our posts are different on our team, and we just need to show what we can do. Everybody needs to come and play every game and we’ll be fine.”

Staley postgame didn’t hint at any starting lineup changes, but she emphasized that USC needed more from its starters, acknowledging that can be a tough adjustment for someone who previously came off the bench like Feagin.

Heading into this Sunday’s game vs. No. 10 N.C. State, South Carolina’s national championship-winning coach also said her team will embrace the challenge of replacing Cardoso and improving after a tighter-than-expected season opener.

“When you’re teaching a team like this and we play against our Highlighters (male practice players), it’s not just because we’re playing against guys,” Staley said. “We were exposed against young women who were determined to play and made an impact. ... It’s great film, great lessons and a great gut check.”