South Carolina had an early tussle with Ole Miss Sunday afternoon at sold out Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, but after taking a 10-8 lead, the top-ranked Gamecocks never gave it up and bulled their way to an 85-56 win over the Rebels.
The Gamecocks led by only 17-15 at the end of a sloppy first quarter in which the teams combined for ten turnovers. USC cleaned things up in the second quarter. They did not turn the ball over once and outscored Ole Miss 23-16 for a 40-31 halftime advantage.
The Gamecocks forced seven more turnovers in the third quarter as they outscored Ole Miss 20-13 for a 60-44 lead going into the final ten minutes. Kamilla Cardoso scored half of the USC points in the quarter on 5-6 shooting from the floor.
The Gamecocks put the final touches on the win with a 25-12 fourth quarter in which they made 5-8 field goals (62.5%) while holding Ole Miss to 3-13 shooting.
USC finished with a 48% shooting day with 50 of their points coming in the paint. Layups accounted for 40 of those points. Outside of the paint, the Gamecocks weren’t so good. They were only 2-10 from three-point range, and they made just 27 of 42 free throws.
The Gamecocks were aided by 10 offensive rebounds they turned into 19 points, and 21 forced turnovers that led to 17 points. The Gamecocks had 11 steals and seven blocks, and they had 18 assists on their 28 made baskets.
Six Gamecocks scored in double figures led by Cardoso with 17 points. Dawn Staley announced after the game Cardoso will miss the next two games against Missouri and UCONN while playing for her Brazilian National Team in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Milaysia Fulwiley added 14 points. Ashlyn Watkins, starting for the second straight game, recorded her second straight double-double and fifth of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The win was te 19th in a row for the Gamecocks over Ole Miss. The win also extended the following winning streaks: Overall 21; Home 52; SEC 40; Home SEC 35
USC will be back at home Thursday night against Missouri.
Final Stats
