Sold out and still perfect: No. 1 South Carolina takes down Ole Miss at home
The Gamecocks put on a show in the second of the first back-to-back sellouts at Colonial Life Arena in program history.
No. 1 South Carolina thrashed Ole Miss, 85-56, Sunday afternoon asthe Gamecocks extended their program record to 52 straight wins at home.
Coach Dawn Staley went with the same starting five as she did Thursday against Auburn: Te-Hina Paopao, Bree Hall, Raven Johnson, Kamilla Cardoso and Ashlyn Watkins. South Carolina’s usual starting forward Chloe Kitts missed the Auburn game due to illness. She didn’t practice Friday, but she did warm up with the team Sunday afternoon and played 15 minutes against Ole Miss.
Six Gamecocks ended the game having scored at least 10 points: Cardoso (17), Watkins (11), Paopao (11), MiLaysia Fulwiley (14), Hall (10) and Sania Feagin (10).
USC (21-0, 9-0 SEC) hosts Missouri at 7 p.m. Thursday on SEC Network.
Ashlyn Watkins does it again
After making her starting debut in Auburn Thursday, Watkins started again at home in front of a sold-out crowd versus Ole Miss.
She made a huge impact on the game. Aside from her impressive stat line (11 points on 80% shooting, 10 rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal), Watkins just played tough. She recovered errant passes from her teammates and turned them into buckets. She blocked shots and snagged rebounds. She imposed her will.
The game marked Watkins’ 11th double-digit scoring outing of the season.
“I feel like I’m actually looking to score now,” Watkins said. “’Cause I used to just get in and look to pass it. But I feel like now I’m looking to score.”
Kamilla Cardoso channels dominance
Partly due to foul trouble (the two teams combined for 24 fouls in the first half), Cardoso wasn’t able to make much happen. She played nine minutes and shot the ball four times — sinking just one attempt.
But she opened the third quarter with a different level of intensity, scoring 10 points (on 5-of-6 shooting) in 6 minutes. Cardoso backed down defenders and even dove for a ball headed out of bounds in the fourth quarter. She ended the game 17 points on 60% shooting, plus four blocks and two steals.
“She’s doing different things out there,” Staley said. “She’s got two-move game. She’s not just along the baseline and trying to figure out what she’s going to do with the ball. There are more moves happening out there. And she’s finding some success with them.”
South Carolina’s outside shooting slump continues
Heading into the LSU game on Jan. 25, USC averaged a nation-leading 44.1% 3-point shooting percentage. But heading into Sunday’s game vs. Ole Miss, South Carolina had gone through a stretch of struggling from the outside.
In USC’s three previous games, it averaged 30.5% from 3 (shooting 7-of-20 at LSU, 7-of-23 vs. Vanderbilt and 4-of-16 at Auburn). Against Ole Miss, the Gamecocks experienced more of the same.
South Carolina made just one 3-pointer in six attempts during the first half Sunday, courtesy of freshman Tessa Johnson from the right corner with 33 seconds left in the second quarter.
The Gamecocks ended the game having shot 20% (2-of-10) from the arc.
Next four South Carolina women’s basketball games
- Thursday: vs. Missouri, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 11: vs. UConn, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
- Feb. 15: at Tennessee, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
- Feb. 18: vs. Georgia, 1 p.m. (ABC)
This story was originally published February 4, 2024 at 4:09 PM.
