The No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks have won yet another game, lengthening the winning streak to 21 games while remaining unbeaten this season after defeating Ole Miss 77-59 in Oxford Sunday afternoon.
South Carolina now holds an 18-17 edge in the all-time series against the Rebels.
Ole Miss (14-8, 4-5) has not had a great start to conference play, especially after a 70-41 loss to LSU, but South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley knew the Rebels were capable of playing high-level basketball against the Gamecocks.
"They usually do a great job at home just playing inspired,” Staley said before the game.
The Rebels did just that. Ole Miss made things difficult for South Carolina early on and led by as many as nine points in the first half. However, once the Gamecocks turned things on, Ole Miss had a tough time against the nation’s top-ranked team.
By halftime, South Carolina had pulled away. Ole Miss still had a chance to catch up though, with the Gamecocks leading 36-29.
But fouls and turnovers doomed Ole Miss, and the Gamecocks capitalized. The Rebels committed 16 turnovers, six more than the Gamecocks while Ole Miss also committed 32 team fouls. As a result, South Carolina made 25 of 40 shots at the free throw line.
The Gamecocks’ key player was freshman guard Bianca Cuevas. The Bronx, New York native led South Carolina with 21 points off of the bench. Junior guard Tiffany Mitchell and freshman power forward A’ja Wilson each added 11, as well.
A key player for the Rebels was sophomore guard Erika Sisk with 12 points. Freshman guard Shandricka Sessom also added 12 points, while sophomore forward Shequila Joseph scored eight.
South Carolina outscored Ole Miss 41-30 in the second half en route to the 18-point win.
The win was South Carolina’s sixth straight against Ole Miss and its third straight in Oxford.
The Gamecocks take on No. 21 Georgia on Thursday in Athens.