No. 1 South Carolina WBB short-handed, secures convincing win over Missouri
No. 1 South Carolina defeated Missouri 83-45 Thursday night at Colonial Life Arena, completing a 2-0 sweep of the Tigers this season.
The Gamecocks (22-0, 10-0 SEC) played their first of two games without starting center Kamilla Cardoso, who’s participating in an Olympic Qualifying Tournament with Brazil Basketball in her home country this week. The Gamecocks were also without freshman reserve Sahnya Jah, who will be out indefinitely “due to conduct detrimental to the team,” USC announced.
South Carolina subbed sophomore forward Ashlyn Watkins into the starting lineup along with stalwarts Te-Hina Paopao, Bree Hall, Raven Johnson and Chloe Kitts. It marked Watkins’ third consecutive start.
All nine available Gamecocks had checked in and recorded at least one bucket by halftime. Four USC players scored in double figures: MiLaysia Fulwiley (19), Kitts (12), Sania Feagin (11), Hall (10).
South Carolina hosts No. 11 UConn Sunday at 2 p.m. for the latest rendition of their renowned rivalry.
MiLaysia Fulwiley makes quick work of the Tigers
Fulwiley checked into the game six minutes into the first quarter Thursday night. By the end of the period, she led USC with 9 points and sank the Gamecocks’ lone 3-pointer of the quarter.
The freshman never seemed to slow down. She played five minutes in the second quarter and had a hand in over a half-dozen of USC’s 27 points during the period, sinking another 3 and assisting on two other baskets.
Fulwiley ended the game with 19 points, four assists and a team-high six steals.
“I come up off the bench, so I watch pretty much a lot of the game before I actually get into the game,” Fulwiley said of how she evaluates potential opportunities to steal the ball. “So I feel like I know the ones (players) who dribble the ball and who was just trying to get out there and pass the ball, run the play. I just take a chance, and it works sometimes.”
Chloe Kitts gets it done on both ends of the court
After missing South Carolina’s game versus Auburn last week with an illness and playing limited minutes Sunday against Ole Miss, Kitts made up for lost time Thursday night against the Tigers.
She filled up the stat sheet by halftime, recording 12 points (on 6-of-7 shooting), five rebounds, two assists, one turnover and four blocks in 15 minutes of playing time.
Kitts ended the night with 12 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a career-high five blocks.
“Recently I’ve been trying to focus on more defense in practice and in games,” Kitts said. “The ball kind of just came in my hand. We had great team movement on defense, so my teammates gave me an opportunity to be able to block the other team’s shots.”
Gamecocks put on defensive clinic
South Carolina entered into Thursday night’s game without its best rim protector and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year candidate Cardoso. But no matter. USC thrived on defense anyway.
The Gamecocks blocked 11 shots, grabbed 47 rebounds (27 defensive) and snagged 15 steals from the Tigers. It marked USC’s most shots blocked (up from nine at Auburn last week) and most steals (up from 14 versus Kentucky on Jan. 15) in an SEC game this season.
Next four South Carolina women’s basketball games
- Sunday: vs. UConn, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
- Feb. 15: at Tennessee, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
- Feb. 18: vs. Georgia, 1 p.m. (ABC)
- Feb. 22: vs. Alabama, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
This story was originally published February 8, 2024 at 8:50 PM.
