#1-USC got 38 points from its starting backcourt, and the Gamecocks needed every one as they knocked off North Carolina 65-58 in the women’s version of the ACC/SEC Challenge on Thursday night. The Tarheels (5-3) were able to build as much as an 11-point lead early in the second quarter, but USC (6-0) steadied itself, thanks in large part to junior guard Bree Hall. The Dayton, Ohio, product hit a big three in the final minute of the first half as the Gamecocks whittled UNC’s advantage down to 29-26 at the break. Hall finished the game as Carolina’s leading scorer with fifteen points on five-of-six shooting from the field.
As the score indicates, neither team was very sharp early on in front of a packed house at Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill. Despite holding the lead, North Carolina shot just 33% from the field in the opening twenty minutes. The visitors weren’t much better, as USC connected on 35% of its first-half shots while committing eight first-half turnovers.
In the second half, the Gamecocks took control, outscoring the Tarheels 21-12, as Te-Hina Paopao scored six in the quarter on a pair of three-point field goals. Chloe Kitts matched Paopao’s performance with six of her own, along with two rebounds.
North Carolina made things interesting in the 4th quarter but could never reclaim the lead as the Gamecocks kept UNC at bay to record the program’s 300th true road victory, dating back to the 1976–77 season. That was the first time site locations were listed on the game-by-game records, according to USC.
The Gamecocks will stay on “Tobacco Road” to face the Duke Blue Devils at 1 p.m. on Sunday in the Jimmy V Classic.