No. 2 South Carolina (20-2, 6-1 in the SEC) left no doubt on Sunday in a dominating 103-74 win over No. 5 Vanderbilt. Coming off their second loss of the year, and their first in SEC play, on Thursday to No. 16 Oklahoma — in which their offense sputtered in overtime — the Gamecocks came out against the Commodores on fire, scoring 55 first-half points while shooting 65 percent from the floor through the first 20 minutes.
While the game was played in front of a smaller-than-usual crowd in Colonial Life Arena due to an ice storm warning in South Carolina, the win was a resonant exclamation mark against a Vanderbilt team that had its best start in program history.
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South Carolina’s defense came out determined to make a statement after giving up a season-high 94 points to the Sooners. The Gamecocks’ swarming defense harassed Vanderbilt early, holding preseason All-American Mikayla Blakes to just four first-quarter points and forcing Vanderbilt into 16 first-half turnovers. Freshman point guard Aubrey Galvan, who has had a tremendous start to the season, struggled to get her footing as she tallied just one first-half assist. The Gamecocks kept the pressure on Galvan, who finished with just three assists — less than half of her season average.
Even with the early struggles, Vanderbilt (20-1, 6-1) rallied — behind a strong second-quarter from Blakes — to cut South Carolina’s lead to seven early in the third quarter, but South Carolina responded with a 27-8 run to close out the quarter.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley went with a new, smaller starting lineup against Vanderbilt, opting for 6-foot-1 freshman guard Agot Makeer over 6-foot-6 center Madina Okot.
South Carolina finished with five double-digit scorers, led by Ta’Niya Latson and Tessa Johnson from outside. Latson, who shot a career-worst 10 percent from the floor in the loss to Oklahoma, bounced back with a team-high 21 points and five assists. Joyce Edwards and Okot led the way inside for the Gamecocks, who scored 56 points in the paint.
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Vanderbilt’s loss is its first of the season and leaves UConn as the only undefeated team in women’s college hoops at 21-0. It also moves South Carolina and Vanderbilt into second place in the SEC standings (with the Gamecocks having a potential edge given the head-to-head result), trailing No. 17 Tennessee which postponed its game against No. 18 Ole Miss on Sunday due to weather concerns.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
South Carolina Gamecocks, Vanderbilt Commodores, Women’s College Basketball
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