No. 2 South Carolina WBB cruises to road SEC win over Georgia
The No. 2 South Carolina women’s basketball team secured yet another easy win over a conference opponent Thursday.
Coach Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks (22-1, 10-0 SEC) beat Georgia (9-15, 1-9 SEC) 74-42 at Stegeman Coliseum, marking South Carolina’s 19th consecutive win over the Bulldogs. Thursday’s victory also extends South Carolina’s SEC win streak to 57 games.
Stout Gamecock defense
South Carolina’s defense proved, yet again, too tough for its opponents to top.
The Gamecocks held Georgia to fewer than 10 points in each of the first two quarters. The Bulldogs scored nine points in the first quarter, six in the second, 16 in the third and 11 in the final frame.
South Carolina held the Bulldogs to 30% shooting from the field. The Bulldogs shot as low as 11% in the second quarter, making just one field goal in the period.
South Carolina forced 17 turnovers.
Improved rebounding
Staley has repeatedly said in recent weeks that her team needed to improve on the glass. The Gamecocks did just that Thursday.
South Carolina out-rebounded Georgia 47-28. The Gamecocks brought in 33 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive boards, compared with the Bulldogs’ 21 and seven, respectively.
“I thought we did a great, a better job of boxing out,” Staley said. “ I thought we did a better job of just scrapping. If you couldn’t get it, hit it out. Chloe (Kitts) was great. (Sania) Feagin was great. I thought Tessa (Johnson) got in there and just was scrappy. So we’ll need every bit of that as we move forward.”
Feagin led the Gamecocks with nine rebounds, one shy of a career high.
South Carolina had been out-rebounded in three of its last four games coming into Thursday’s matchup.
Team effort in the scoring column
South Carolina saw 12 different players touch the floor against Georgia, and all but one scored a point.
Three different Gamecocks hit double-digit scoring. MiLaysia Fulwiley led South Carolina with 13 points, followed by Johnson with 12 points and Kitts with 11 points.
The Gamecocks shot well from 3-point range. South Carolina was 8 for 19 with a 42% clip.
Staley gave credit to her practice squad, the Highlighters, for preparing South Carolina for Georgia’s zone defense.
“I just feel like we were patient,” Kitts said. “Got the ball in the middle and then we just relaxed and then hit it out. We had really good ball movement. Everybody kept moving. Coach prepared us and we just executed.”
South Carolina schedule: Next four games
- Sunday: at Texas, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
- Feb. 13: vs. Florida, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 16: vs. UConn, 1 p.m. (ABC)
- Feb. 20: vs. Arkansas, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 8:19 PM.
