With next week’s matchup against No. 6 Tennessee, the only other SEC team undefeated in conference play, looming, No. 2 South Carolina (25-1, 13-0 SEC) remained focused on the task at hand and won on the road against a pesky Arkansas team.
Junior shooting guard Tiffany Mitchell led the Gamecocks in scoring with 15 points, and South Carolina shot 52 percent from the field in its 73-56 win. Mitchell has now scored in double-digits in 13 straight games.
As the season has continued, the Gamecocks seemingly reach new milestones with each and every win, as was the case with the victory over the Razorbacks. Head coach Dawn Staley’s team has now won 25 games in four consecutive seasons, a mark that the Gamecocks had achieved on only three occasions in the previous 37 seasons.
Within the first nine minutes, the Gamecocks had built up a 10 point-lead and although Arkansas stuck around for most of the first half, South Carolina never trailed.
Still, Arkansas, a team that entered the matchup having won four out of its last five games, showed resilience and trailed by only two points with just over five minutes remaining before halftime.
But South Carolina ended the first half on a high note, making nine out of its last 11 shot attempts before halftime and led 38-31 at the half.
Not allowing the home team to stay within striking range for much longer, the Gamecocks started the second half strong on offense and pushed its lead to 18 points at one point.
Outside of Mitchell, South Carolina’s depth also helped the Gamecocks have another efficient performance on offense. Freshman guard/forward A’ja Wilson continued her hot streak on the offensive front by adding 14 points, and sophomore center Alaina Coates recorded a double-double with 14 points of her own while grabbing 11 rebounds.
As a team, the Gamecocks out rebounded Arkansas 33-24.
Despite its success throughout the night, the Gamecocks still committed 18 turnovers and allowed Arkansas to score 14 points off of turnovers.
That said, South Carolina junior point guard Khadijah Sessions made wise choices when in control, scoring 11 points and dishing out seven assists.
Moving forward, South Carolina will put its 30-game home winning streak to test against the Volunteers on Monday. Tennessee is coming off a 21-point victory over Alabama.