South Carolina women's basketball: South Carolina smothers Southern Cal 69-52 to win The Real SC game

They’re the Real SC, and they’re spectacular. No. 2 South Carolina controlled the third quarter to blow open a first half rock fight and beat no. 8 Southern Cal 69-52.

Southern Cal plays a four-guard lineup, and the Trojans’ bigs pose little threat to score or rebounds. South Carolina didn’t take advantage of the size mismatch in the first half, but the Gamecocks started dominating in the third quarter.

In the third quarter alone, South Carolina outrebounded Southern Cal 18-6 with 10 offensive rebounds. South Carolina converted the rebounds into four second-chance points and eight fast break points, and turned a two-point halftime lead into a 10-point lead.

From there, the defense took over. One game after holding Clemson to 0-17 shooting and two points in the fourth quarter, South Carolina held Southern Cal to seven points on 3-14 shooting. 

“I’m going to give a lot of credit to Madina (Okot), who just really controlled the paint,” Dawn Staley said. She was where we needed her to be time and time again. She needed it just from a confidence standpoint, knowing that we need her. (…) She’s part of us finding out identity.”

South Carolina finished with a 56-32 rebounding advantage and held Southern Cal to 33% shooting. South Carolina shot 41% for the game, but 48% in the second half and overwhelmed Southern Cal with its size and athleticism.

“It’s one thing to talk about it, it’s one thing to see it on film, and it’s another thng to experience it,” Lindsay Gottlieb said. “52 points is not going to win a lot of games.”

Londynn Jones and Jazzy Davidson entered the game averaging 17.5 points. South Carolina held them to a combined 12 points on 6-21 shooting with no threes.

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Joyce Edwards led South Carolina with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Raven Johnson also had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Madina Okot led the Gamecocks with 15 rebounds, and added six points.

“”I’m challenging (Edwards) to be the best two-way player every time she steps on the floor,” Staley said. “She’s goal-oriented, so if she’s that for us, we’re going to win a lot of basketball games.”

Ta’Niya Latson and Tessa Johnson rebounded from poor shooting in the first half to finish with 12 and 14 points, respectively. Johnson also had a game-high five assists.

“We’re continuing to find out identity, keeping flow in our offense,” Edwards said. “I feel like our defense has really improved through the season and just keeping that strong, sharing the ball, keeping everybody involved ( …) just the fundamentals.”

South Carolina got off to a fast start and led 18-8 in the first quarter. But Ta’Niya Latson picked up two fouls and Dawn Staley had to go to her bench early. Without Latson, and later Joyce Edwards when she needed rest, South Carolina’s offense stalled. 

Southern Cal wasn’t much better. Freshman Jazzy Davidson picked up two fouls in the first three minutes of the game and had to sit. She returned, but didn’t play her normal minutes. 

With Davidson limited, Southern Cal was able to chip away at the lead and even briefly took a 28-27 lead, but the Trojans couldn’t take advantage of the Gamecocks’ struggles.

Kennedy Smith led Southern Cal with 12 points. Kara Dunn added 12 and was Southern Cal’s leading rebounder with five.

Notes:

The game was the first of the two-game “The Real SC” series and was played at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angles. Next year the teams will play at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Grennville. … Former Gamecock Aliyah Boston and future Gamecock Kaeli Wynn (and her mother) were at the game. … Agot Makeer played Davidson to a near draw with four points and four rebounds. … South Carlina got just eight minutes from its bench in the second half. Six from Makeer and two from Maryam Dauda. Ayla McDowell played in the first half. Adhel Tac did not play. … South Carolina turned the ball over 17 times. Many were  the result of trying to force transition. … Londynn Jones went 5-5 from three last season against South Carolina when she was with UCLA. She was 0-4 on Saturday. … Dawn Staley’s outfit: Staley wore a black zip-up hoodie. … Announced attendance was 8,150. … South Carolina’s next game is on Wednesday against Winthrop.

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