The best way to describe South Carolina’s play Monday night would be dominant.
From start to finish, South Carolina (18-0, 6-0) looked like the nation’s No. 1 team in Gainesville, Florida, as the Gamecocks wasted no time building a substantial lead early on and beat Florida (9-10, 1-5) handily, winning 77-42 to stay undefeated on the season.
The Gamecocks have now won six straight games against the Gators, and South Carolina’s 6-0 starts in conference play is a program best.
Junior shooting guard Tiffany Mitchell continued her hot streak as she led a balanced South Carolina scoring attack with 18 points.
Mitchell, South Carolina’s leading scorer on the season, is now averaging 15.2 points per game and has now scored in double-digits in 14 of South Carolina’s 18 games this season.
Freshman small forward A'ja Wilson also added 16 points in 21 minutes off the bench. Wilson is now averaging 11.8 points per game in SEC play.
Additionally, freshman point guard Bianca Cuevas scored in double-digits with 11 points.
South Carolina’s offensive prowess was propelled by its depth, and ability to score near the basket. South Carolina had 46 points in the paint, while the Gamecock reserves accounted for 47 points, five more points than the entire Florida team.
As a team, South Carolina shot an impressive 59.3 percent from the field and led 40-17 at halftime.
Meanwhile, head coach Dawn Staley’s team had another strong game defensively and held Florida to just 27.1 percent shooting, marking the 11th straight game that the Gamecocks held its opponent to below 40 percent shooting.
South Carolina’s rout didn’t stop at halftime either, and the Gamecocks, who led by 40 points at one point, outscored the Gators 37-25 in the second half.
Moving on, South Carolina will have a much tougher test in its next game at home against No. 10 Texas A&M on Monday, Jan. 26.
Since Texas A&M joined the SEC beginning in the 2012-2013 season, South Carolina is 0-3 against the Aggies.