Second-ranked South Carolina squared off with Duke Wednesday in Las Vegas, the poker capital of the world, with a spot in the Players Era Tournament final on the line. Luckily enough for Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley, she came to the table having already been dealt a pair of aces in the forms of Joyce Edwards and Madina Okot. Okot and Edwards left Duke’s frontcourt looking short-stacked as South Carolina cruised to an 83-66 victory to set up a Thanksgiving showdown with Texas in the tournament final.
Okot registered her fifth double-double in just seven games as a Gamecock, hauling in 13 rebounds to go with her game-high 23 points. Edwards packed the statsheet with 22 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals. Okot also made her presence felt defensively with four steals and a pair of blocked shots.
The Blue Devils fared better than most and became the first Gamecocks opponent to break the 60-point barrier this season.
USC didn’t do much damage from the 3-point line, making just one of ten from beyond the arc, but the Gamecocks dominated down low, outscoring Duke 58-28 in the paint.
The Blue Devils were holding their own before South Carolina’s 13-2 run to close out the first half put USC in control. Ta’Niya Latson and Raven Johnson also contributed offensively with 12 points and 10 points, respectively.
Duke will meet no. 3 UCLA in Thursday’s third-place game at 10:30 p.m. No. 4 Texas, having knocked off UCLA 76-65 earlier Wednesday, will meet South Carolina (7-0) in the Players Era tournament final at 8 p.m., Thursday. The Gamecocks defeated the Longhorns in the Final Four last season.
Final Stats
