South Carolina women's basketball rides balanced scoring and elite defense to a 101-60 rout of No. 13 Oklahoma

No. 2 South Carolina women’s basketball jumped on No. 13 Oklahoma early and never let up, dominating the Sooners for a 101-60 victory.

“A lot of coaches have a vision of how they want their team to play,” Dawn Staley said. “That was it.”

South Carolina controlled the first quarter to take a commanding early lead. The Gamecocks outscored Oklahoma 28-9, holding the Sooners to their lowest-scoring quarter this season. South Carolina shot 58% in the quarter while holding Oklahoma to 28% shooting and forcing six turnovers.

WIN TICKETS: Kim Mulkey and undefeated LSU are coming to Columbia on Jan. 23

In the second quarter, Oklahoma briefly rallied with a 7-0 run. Dawn Staley responded by substituting four players, including MiLaysia Fulwiley. Fulwiley immediately drove for a layup to halt the run. She added another layup to bookend an 8-0 run that put South Carolina back in control. 

“We have a great team, and I think sometimes we can get complacent,” Fulwiley said. “I feel like we all came together.”

It was a half of futility for the Sooners. They scored a season-low 24 points and allowed a season-high 49 points (a high that would be short-lived: the Gamecocks scored 52 in the second half). It could be summed up by the final five seconds.

Zya Vann was dribbling down the clock when the ball simply bounced away from her, straight to Bree Hall. Hall raced the other way for a layup as time expired.

WIN TICKETS: The Auburn Tigers are coming to Columbia to upset Gamecocks WBB

The Sooners finished with a season-low 60 points, 12 less than their previous low. They shot a season-low 35.8% and committed 22 turnovers. Entering the game, the Sooners averaged 88.1 points, fourth-most in the country, and shooting 48%.

“We did a great job of passing it to them instead of Raegan (Beers),” Jennie Baranczyk joked.

The Sooners had just two players score in double figures and got next to nothing from Payton Verhulst. Verhulst scored a career-high 38 points in Oklahoma’s last game but finished with just three points on 1-6 shooting. 

“We wanted to play fast,” Staley said. “We wanted to get up and down the floor. We wanted to control the paint. We wanted to take rhythm threes. We wanted to have a fluid offense. Defensively, we knew they were going to score some in transition. We knew they were going to hit some threes. But over a 40-minute period, we wanted to make it really hard for them to get into any rhythm.”

Beers finished with 23 points and eight rebounds but also had four turnovers. South Carolina was mostly content to let her get her points while shutting down everyone else. 

“She was probably the hardest out that we’ve faced,” Staley said. “But I thought we took care of pretty much everyone else to allow us to build a lead and hold on to it.”

South Carolina had five players score in double figures and two others scored nine points. The Gamecocks scored a season-high 101 points and had a season-high 26 assists on their 39 baskets while only turning the ball over six times.

Joyce Edwards led the Gamecocks with 17 points. Fulwiley added 15 and a career-high seven assists. Tessa Johnson broke out of a recent slump with 13 points, and Te-Hina Paopao added 11. Bree Hall and Raven Johnson each had nine points, with Johnson adding a season-high eight assists.

Sania Feagin had 12 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks in 17 minutes. She played Beers to a virtual draw through three quarters. 

Get the free GamecocksW newsletter: Don’t rely on search engines and social media for your South Carolina women’s basketball info

Notes:

Sunday’s game was South Carolina’s annual “We Back Pat” game in honor of the late Tennessee coach Pat Summitt. Players on both teams wore “We Back Pat” shooting shirts. … This was South Carolina’s first win over Oklahoma. The Sooners won the previous three meetings. … Skylar Vann scored 13 points. … Adhel Tac converted a three-point play with 54 seconds left to put South Carolina over the century mark. … Maryam Dauda played 14 minutes and scored five points but picked up four fouls. … All 12 Gamecocks played. … Dawn Staley’s outfit: Staley wore a Philadelphia Eagles jacket over her We Back Pat shirt. … Announced attendance was 18,000. It was the second consecutive sellout. … South Carolina’s next game is Thursday against LSU.

Discuss the Oklahoma game and South Carolina women’s basketball on The Insiders Forum!