No. 3 South Carolina women’s basketball (23-2, 9-1 SEC) defeated unranked Mississippi State 88-45 on Thursday night at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. The Gamecocks played again without guards senior Ta’Niya Latson and freshman Agot Makeer.
South Carolina attacked early, with the first basket being scored within the first 18 seconds by sophomore forward Joyce Edwards. Senior forward Kharyssa Richardson hit a jumper in response, but Edwards banked in another layup to maintain an early Gamecock lead.
Mississippi State freshman forward Madison Francis fouled Edwards, which resulted in a made free throw, putting the Gamecocks ahead 9-2. South Carolina gradually built up a 10-point lead with five minutes left, not having allowed Mississippi State to score since the eight-minute mark.
The Bulldogs eventually scored with three minutes left in the first quarter with a layup from Richardson, who scored the first 4 Bulldog points of the game.
Redshirt senior Destiney McPhaul scored the game’s first 3-pointer nearing the end of the first, while junior guard Tessa Johnson answered back with South Carolina’s first 3-pointer of the game. The Gamecocks entered the second quarter leading the Bulldogs 21-11.
Mississippi State started the second quarter off with a layup from freshman guard Jaylah Lampley, but still trailed by 8. Sophomore forward Adhel Tac put 2 more points on the board 26 seconds later. Scoring went quiet for almost two minutes of action as the Gamecocks turned the ball over three times which limited their ability to get good shots.
Senior guard Raven Johnson put the Gamecocks up 30-17 with an assist from Tessa Johnson. Mississippi State went on a run, scoring 5 points before the Gamecocks scored again, courtesy of sophomore guard Maddy McDaniel. McDaniel made two jumpers within a minute and then later assisted Edwards on a jumper.
South Carolina closed out the second quarter with a turnover by junior forward Favour Nwaedozi followed by a Gamecock steal and then a missed jumper by McDaniel. The Gamecocks confidently entered halftime at 38-22.
The Gamecocks set the tone for the third period when freshman guard Ayla McDowell knocked down a 3-pointer, widening the Gamecock lead to 41-22. Edwards extended the gap to 20 points with a layup shortly after. With just under four minutes left in the quarter, Tac gave the Gamecocks a 30-point lead following a layup.
With one second left in the third, Tac scored again, adding 10 more points to the lead and putting the Gamecocks ahead 68-28 going into the fourth quarter. A pair of free throws from Richardson helped the Bulldogs cross into the 30-point threshold at 70-30. After some time passed, senior center Madina Okot hit a jumper to continue the Gamecocks offensive dominance and make the score 81-35.
South Carolina continued not to let up with McDaniel scoring two free throws and layup from Tac, making the score 85-40. Down to the final minutes of the game, freshman forward Alicia Tournebize made a 3-point jumper, making it 88-40. Mississippi State only went on to score 5 more points in the final two minutes, one of them being a 3-pointer by freshman forward Nataliyah Gray, to cap off an 88-45 Gamecock win.
Edwards led the Gamecocks in scoring tonight with 21 points while also getting six assists. McDowell was the Gamecocks second leading scorer tonight with 16 points while getting five rebounds.
What's next?
The No. 3 Gamecocks will stay home to face the No. 19 Tennessee Volunteers (15-5, 5-1 SEC) Sunday at 3:00 p.m at Colonial Life Arena. The game will be broadcast on ABC.