South Carolina women's basketball: MiLaysia Fulwiley leads rout of North Carolina

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Behind 20 points from MiLaysia Fulwiley, South Carolina blew out North Carolina 88-41 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen in Albany.

South Carolina’s 2023 signing class broke open a close game with a 90-second, 11-0 spurt late in the first quarter. Chloe Kitts, who enrolled early and is a sophomore, started it with a layup. 

Freshman Tessa Johnson, who went 0-7 against Presbyterian, sank back-to-back threes, and then freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley blocked a shot that she turned into a three-pointer in front of the Tar Heel bench.

That spurt felt like a lightning strike and it was only the beginning. Over a nine-minute span South Carolina went on a massive 30-2 run, holding North Carolina without a field goal on 0-13 shooting.

“Last time I thought they caught us off guard with their aggressiveness,” Fulwiley said. “Today I felt we did a great job matching that energy on both sides of the basketball for the whole four quarters. We did great.”

When the dust settled, South Carolina led 43-10. By halftime, it was a 56-19 lead. North Carolina had allowed 56 or fewer points for the entire game nine times this season, including the Tar Heels’ 59-56 win over Michigan State on Friday. 

“We haven’t played like that in a super long time,” Dawn Staley said. “We actually were talking about that in the coaches’ locker room, like, we haven’t played well all together. Every single of our players made an impact coming into the game. And we needed a performance like this. And hopefully this playing this good of basketball can be contagious throughout the rest of the way.”

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“It was a perfect storm,” Courtney Banghart said. “They shot way above their average and we shot below our average. So, mathematically, it’s never going to go so well for you.”

Fulwiley finished with a game-high 20 points and nearly notched her first double-double with nine rebounds. She also had three steals and three blocks and played sensational defense against Deja Kelly.

“When I step on the court, my main focus is usually defense,” Fulwiley said. “Once I’m playing good defense and I get good steals I feel my offense flows and comes to me.”

Kelly, who had 24 and 20 points in her last two games, scored just seven points on 2-13 shooting and committed six turnovers.

South Carolina and North Carolina have played twice in the past three seasons, with both games following a similar pattern. Despite being undersized and outmanned, the Tar Heels gave the Gamecocks fits by controlling the tempo and turning the game into a physical slog.

South Carolina won both games, beating North Carolina 69-61 in the 2022 NCAA Tournament and 65-58 earlier this season. The Gamecocks shot below 40% in both games.

For about three minutes, it looked like this would be another rock fight. Both teams missed four of their first five shots and the Gamecocks held an unimpressive 3-2 lead before they settled in with consecutive layups by Ashlyn Watkins and Kamilla Cardoso.

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South Carolina shot just under 60% in the first half and finsihed the game shooting 45.1% (Sania Feagin decided to become a three-point specialist in the fourth quarter, dragging down the numbers). The Gamecocks were 9-20 from three and 15-19 from the line. 

North Carolina outrebounded South Carolina 45-39 the first time, but South Carolina completely flipped things, dominating the glass 54-33 and getting 21 second chance points off 19 offensive rebounds.

Despite shooting just 23.8%, North Carolina managed just 14 offensive rebounds and five second chance points.

Fulwiley was one of five Gamecocks who scored in double figures. Chloe Kitts had 12 points, although she finally missed her first shot of the tournament. Kamilla Cardoso had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Ashlyn Watkins and Tessa Johnson each had 11 points.

Alyssa Ustby led North Carolina with 12 points.

Notes:

South Carolina wore its “Cocky” uniforms. … North Carolina’s previous worst loss of the season was 12 points to UConn (76-64). … Lexi Donarski had seven points on 2-17 shooting. … All ten Gamecocks played. Only Sakima Walker went scoreless. … The South Carolina bench outscore dth eNorth Carolina bench 51-0. … Dawn Staley’s outfit: Staley wore an all-tan sweatsuit. … Announced attendance was 14,266. … South Carolina’s next game is Friday in Albany for the Sweet Sixteen. It is South Carolina’s tenth consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearance.

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