No. 2 South Carolina WBB pulls away for big SEC win over Auburn
The No. 2 South Carolina women’s basketball team remains perfect in SEC play after cruising to an 83-66 win over Auburn on Sunday at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks improve to 21-1 on the season with a 9-0 mark in conference play with the victory.
Auburn was able to match South Carolina relatively well on offense for a majority of the game, but the Gamecocks defense was able to help the team pull away in the fourth quarter and secure the big win.
Explosive offenses
Both South Carolina and Auburn shot the lights out of the ball on Sunday afternoon.
Auburn, a team that typically shoots 44.4%, was shooting 60% from the field at the end of the first quarter. South Carolina had hot hands of their own, though, and used a 69% shooting clip to take a 23-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Both teams’ shooting percentage dropped a bit in the second quarter, but the numbers were still high heading into the break. The Tigers were 13 for 26 from the field with a 50% shooting percentage at halftime, while the Gamecocks were 18 for 32 (56.3%).
South Carolina’s 57.1% clip for the game was just short of a season-high, and Auburn’s 50% mark was the best an opponent has shot against the Gamecocks all season.
Post players have a big day in front of A’ja Wilson
South Carolina’s post players finding success against Auburn on Sunday was fitting, given they did so in front of one of the best to ever do it in a Gamecock uniform: A’ja Wilson.
Wilson was in town for her jersey retirement ceremony that took place before the game.
Two different forwards finished with more than double-digits in the scoring column for the game; Joyce Edwards and Chloe Kitts.
Edwards scored 11 of her 18 points in the first half, and Kitts finished with 13 points. Edwards led the team in scoring and also brought in five rebounds. Kitts led the team with nine rebounds, finishing one shy of a double-double.
“It was an honor we did that in front of her,” Edwards said. “She literally paved the way for us to be here. So I kind of feel like it was a little bit of a full-circle moment for her too, because she was watching what she built, what she created. So just as much as I’m honored to play in front of her, I feel like she was just honored to watch us play.”
Solid effort from Auburn, but not enough
Auburn hung around for a majority of the game Sunday before inevitably falling to South Carolina. The Tigers never led but they never trailed by more than 10 points through the last minute of the third quarter.
Johnnie Harris’ squad even tied the game at one point in the second quarter and cut the Gamecocks’ lead to as little as three in the third quarter. DeYona Gaston led Auburn with 31 points.
South Carolina’s defense ultimately made the difference and helped the Gamecocks pull away.
The Gamecocks had 16 steals and forced 23 Auburn turnovers.
“What we did today was we produced points from our defense,” Staley said. “We knocked the ball loose, we got steals into easy baskets and it alleviated some of the pressure of having to execute in the half-court offense. Because they disrupted us. They were in us, they pressured us, they forced us out. They didn’t allow us to just make passes from point A to B to C. You had to find a way.”
South Carolina schedule: Next four games
- Feb. 6: at Georgia, 6 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Feb. 9: at Texas, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
- Feb. 13: vs. Florida, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 16: vs. UConn, 1 p.m. (ABC)
This story was originally published February 2, 2025 at 1:52 PM.
