South Carolina women's basketball is moving on in the SEC Tournament after defeating Kentucky 87-64 in the quarterfinals Friday. The Gamecocks led by double digits from the second quarter onward in the 23-point victory.
Kentucky got the scoring going first and led 3-0 after a made free throw on its next possession. Sophomore forward Joyce Edwards helped South Carolina tie the game at 3 after a made free throw and a layup shortly afterwards.
Just past the quarter’s midway mark, the Gamecocks led 13-6. The team had made four straight field goals. Edwards had 5 points and senior center Madina Okot had four rebounds.
Coming back from the game’s first media timeout, Kentucky responded with a 7-1 run. Senior guard Raven Johnson halted the Wildcat run by knocking down her second field goal of the quarter, pushing the lead back to 4. She scored again on the team’s next possession, beating the shot clock for a contested make from midrange.
A steal by sophomore guard Maddy McDaniel led to the final score of the quarter, with the Gamecocks leading 22-16 after the first. Edwards and Raven Johnson each had 7 points in the period.
Early in the second, freshman guard Agot Makeer assisted Okot on a layup that marked the first field goal of the quarter. After exchanging possessions back and forth, Okot drained a 3-pointer to put South Carolina up 29-16. The Gamecocks' 7-0 scoring stretch to begin the second quarter resulted in Kentucky having to slow the game down with a timeout.
South Carolina went on a scoring drought of over two minutes before a free-throw make by freshman forward Alicia Tournebize.
Junior guard Tessa Johnson then scored the games' next 10 points after knocking down two 3-pointers, a pair of free throws and a layup. The solo scoring spree extended South Carolina's lead to 40-21.
With 50 seconds left before halftime, Okot had already notched a double-double at 10 points and 10 rebounds. She added two assists and two steals in the half as well.
The Gamecocks led 44-27 at halftime, after back-to-back 22-point quarters. Okot and Tessa Johnson were both in double-figure scoring with 10 and 12 points, respectively. Edwards added 9, and Raven Johnson had 7.
The Wildcats were held to just 11 points in the second. The team had turned the ball over 10 times by halftime, and South Carolina had capitalized with 13 points off those turnovers.
Edwards scored on both of the Gamecocks’ first two possessions to start the second half. On the third possession, Tessa Johnson knocked down her third 3-pointer of the game. After another score by Edwards, South Carolina’s lead was up to 22.
Kentucky called a timeout with 6:22 left in the third after a layup by Okot brought the lead up to 57-33. The Gamecocks went on a 15-6 run to start the quarter, with Edwards notching 8 points in the process.
A 3-pointer by Gamecock senior forward Maryam Dauda was the final made field goal of the third quarter and saw South Carolina exit the period with a 23-point lead. The team had already scored more points through three quarters, with 68, than it did in the entirety of its matchup against Kentucky on March 1, with 60.
Edwards led the team with 12 points in the third quarter, shooting 83% (5-6) from the field in the process. She had 21 points entering the fourth.
Kentucky opened the fourth quarter with three consecutive makes from beyond the arc. Latson and Makeer helped keep the Gamcocks ahead, combining for 13 points in the first six minutes of the period.
The Wildcats stayed hot, making seven of their first 10 shots in the quarter, including a perfect 5-5 from 3-point land. But Kentucky cooled off and didn’t score again after the 3:24 mark in the final period, missing its final four shot attempts, and ending the game 87-64 .
Edwards led South Carolina in scoring with 21, followed by Tessa Johnson's 15 and Okot's 12. Latson led the team in assists with six, and Okot led the team with 13 rebounds.
What's next?
South Carolina advances to the SEC Tournament semifinals, taking place on March 7, and will take on LSU for a trip to the SEC Championship. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. in Greenville, South Carolina, and it can streamed on ESPN2.