South Carolina women's basketball is moving on to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks defeated No. 16 seed Southern University 103-34 at Colonial Life Arena on Saturday, the largest tournament win in program history.
The Gamecocks didn't give the Jaguars any room to breathe on offense throughout the 69-point win. While South Carolina had shot 50% (18-36) from the field at halftime, the team was 1-13 (7.7%) from beyond the arc and had posted nine turnovers.
"You could tell we were a little rusty initially," sophomore forward Joyce Edwards said. "As a team, we got together and started hitting shots in the second half."
Edwards herself certainly didn't appear rusty, as she had 19 first-half points on 8-9 shooting. She was the game's only player in double-figure scoring at the break. She helped the Gamecocks manage a 25-point lead, as did strong defensive efforts. Southern was held to just 19 points in the half, shooting 8-35 (22.9%) from the field and 2-10 (20%) from the 3-point line.
Both sides of the ball for South Carolina began to work in unison in the third quarter. The Gamecocks played their best quarter of the season, dominating the Jaguars by outscoring them 32-2. Southern's only points came from free throws, as the team shot 0-14 from the field in the period.
"(Head coach Dawn Staley) was really mad about our defense," Edwards said. "We just knew we had to tighten that up and then everything else would flow."
Senior guard Ta'Niya Latson was a driving force in the team's defensive efforts. She grabbed four steals in the game, more than every Southern player combined. All four steals led to points for South Carolina.
"(Staley) just told me in the locker room at halftime that I need to play better defense," Latson said. "I took that personal."
Latson added 17 points, six assists and four rebounds as well. Her scoring total was second only to Edwards, who finished with 27 points, a career-high in the NCAA Tournament. Eight rebounds and three assists rounded out her stat line on the day.
Also posting a career-high was junior guard Tessa Johnson, who earned the first double-double of her career with 14 points and a career-best 10 rebounds. The total was a notable surge from her average of 3.3 boards a game.
"I've been trying to rebound this season," Johnson said. "The scoring wasn't working out, so I felt like I had to do something else out there."
In freshman guard Agot Makeer's first career NCAA Tournament game, she posted a career-best performance as well. With a career-high 15 points on 7-11 (63.6%) shooting, she also contributed on both sides of the ball, grabbing three steals, three rebounds and three assists.
"I think it's just play like me," Makeer said. "We've been saying it all week that I need to step up, people off the bench have to step up ... I just had to bring it today."
South Carolina's bench continued to contribute on the boards as well. Freshman forward Alicia Tournebize grabbed 11 rebounds, a career-high and the first time she has reached double figures in any statistic since joining the Gamecocks in January.
"People that come off the bench, they bring a little spark to our team," senior guard Raven Johnson said. "I think when you're in the NCAA Tournament, you have got to throw the first punch."
The Gamecocks will hope to emulate Saturday's success on Monday when they take on No. 9 seed Southern California, who South Carolina has already defeated this season.
"We had to take care of business against Southern, but we're looking further ahead," Latson said. "Playing against either USC or Clemson, that's going to be a tough game."