The “Border Battle” isn’t much of a skirmish, as the top-ranked USC women dominate #12-UNC 84-39 in Charlotte

The number one team in the country looked the part on Sunday as South Carolina blitzed its rivals from North Carolina 84-39 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. It’s the fifth straight win for the Gamecocks over the Tarheels and improved USC to 2-0 on the young season.

Six days after the Gamecocks saw a 31-point second half lead whittled down to six in the fourth quarter by Maryland, USC made sure there would be no such rally by the Tarheels. After leading by just five at the end of the first quarter, Carolina pushed the advantage to seventeen by halftime and never looked back. In the decisive third quarter, the Gamecocks outscored UNC 32-9, shooting 71% from the floor in the period.

UNC (0-2) was overwhelmed all evening by the Gamecock defense, turning the basketball over 24 times, which Dawn Staley’s club turned into 39 points. The Tarheels shot only 25% from the field and were outrebounded 49-33 by the garnet and black.

Chloe Kitts led four Gamecocks in double-figures with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Final Game Stats