South Carolina women's basketball earned its 10th conference win of the season on Sunday with a dominant win over No. 19 Tennessee at home. With the 93-50 win, the Gamecocks become the first team in the SEC to notch double-digit wins in conference play this season.
The two teams traded blows throughout the first quarter, a period that involved nine total lead changes. Senior forward Janiah Barker led the way for Tennessee with 8 points in the period, the most of any player.
It was the Gamecocks who exited the quarter on top thanks to scoring efforts from all of the team's starters. Senior guard Ta'Niya Latson led the team with 7 points, followed by sophomore forward Joyce Edwards with 6. She added two rebounds and two assists in the quarter as well.
After Tennessee tied the game at 16 midway through the period, South Carolina ended on a 9-2 run to enter the second up 25-18.
Barker was the first player in the game to reach double-digit points following two free-throw makes to begin the second quarter. The Gamecocks went on to hold her scoreless for the rest of the quarter, a defensive effort that didn't allow any Volunteer to score more than 3 points in the period.
Tennessee shot 5-16 (31.3%) in the second, a success rate that was dwarfed by the efficiency of South Carolina's 8-11 (72.7%) mark. The Volunteers insisted on establishing a 3-point game, attempting 10 shots from beyond the arc in the quarter, making just two. South Carolina went 2-5 (40%) from deep across the entire first half.
Ending the quarter making six of their final eight shots, the Gamecocks led 47-32 at halftime. Latson led all scorers with 11, while three players for South Carolina — Edwards, senior guard Raven Johnson and junior guard Tessa Johnson — each added 9 points. Senior center Madina Okot finished with eight rebounds by the break.
The efficiency of South Carolina's offense was crucial. The team shot 68% (17-25) in the first half compared to Tennessee's mark of 37.5% (12-32). Half of the Volunteers' attempts came from beyond the arc, shooting 31.3% (5-16) from the 3-point line.
The holes in the Volunteers' game shined through come the second half. In the third quarter, Tennessee went 3-16 (18.8%) from the field, attempting just two non-3-point shots in the entire period.
"Our main focus for Tennessee was to control the paint," Gamecock head coach Dawn Staley said. "We know they're going to shoot 30-plus threes, 44 today. We just didn't want them to have both paint points and made threes."
Comparatively, the Gamecocks could hardly miss. The team went 11-14 from the field with only three attempts from the 3-point line, making two. Latson and Edwards each had 6 points in the quarter, while Tessa Johnson and freshman forward Alicia Tournebize each added 5.
South Carolina outscored the Volunteers 24-9 in the third and entered the fourth quarter up 71-41.
"There was a lot of quit in us tonight," Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell said. "That's been something that's been consistent with our team. If we are not comfortable and things don't go our way, I have a team that will just quit on you. You can't do that in big games — you can't do that anytime in the SEC — but you certainly can't do that at a program like this."
Each team achieved similar success in the fourth quarter. The Volunteers ended the quarter shooting identical to that of the third quarter, 3-16 (18.8%) from the field. South Carolina's 8-13 (61.5%) mark in the fourth was its lowest of the game.
Okot was a force, notching a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds. She was 80% (4-5) from the field in her first game back in the starting lineup.
"I'm just so grateful for my teammates and coaching staff for being there for me," Okot said. "I needed the break to come off the bench. As Coach said, I had too much pressure, and she had to take it off of me for some time, and I'm back."
Tennessee was more than doubled in success rate from the field in the game, 28.1% (18-64) compared to the 69.2% (36-52) mark by the Gamecocks. The 43-point victory by the game's final buzzer was the largest by the Gamecocks over a ranked opponent in program history.
For Tennessee, the loss was the largest in the program's history, topping a 31-point loss to Texas in 1984. Earlier this season, the Volunteers were defeated by No. 1 Connecticut by 30.
South Carolina looks to remain highly efficient in conference play on Saturday on the road against No. 5 LSU.