No. 6 South Carolina WBB returns to SEC play, routs Arkansas at home
South Carolina women’s basketball got back in the win column on Thursday, four days after a tough home loss.
The No. 6 Gamecocks beat Arkansas 95-55 at Colonial Life Arena, improving their record to 24-3 on the year with a 12-1 mark in SEC play.
South Carolina bounces back in a big way
Dawn Staley’s squad led from wire to wire in the win that marked a return to form after losing by 29 to UConn on Sunday.
The Gamecocks have had plenty of success following each of its three losses this season. After South Carolina lost to UCLA, it turned around and beat Iowa State 76-36. After USC lost to Texas, the Gamecocks beat Florida 101-63.
South Carolina’s 40-point win over Arkansas brings the Gamecocks’ average margin of victory in games following a loss to 39.3 points.
“We don’t like to lose, obviously, and we don’t like to lose the way we’ve lost the three games,” Staley said. “There’s a certain focus to just get back to our habits. Hopefully we can continue that as the regular season comes to a close. We’ve got some games in which we’ve got to play well in order for us to win.”
Defense leads to offense
South Carolina had just four points off turnovers Sunday against UConn but improved that number to 22 on Thursday against Arkansas.
The Gamecocks forced 15 turnovers and limited the Razorbacks to a 32.3% shooting clip.
South Carolina shot 45.1% from the field as a team against Arkansas. All but one of the 12 Gamecocks who touched the floor scored a point. Five of them recorded double-digit points, led by Joyce Edwards (18). MiLaysia Fulwiley racked up her share of highlight plays en route to a 15-point performance.
Hall finished with 14 points, and Chloe Kitts recorded her sixth double-double of the year with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Tessa Johnson finished with 10 points.
South Carolina was 8 for 18 as a team from beyond the arc, led by Hall’s three 3-pointers.
The Gamecocks won the battle of the paint as well, out-rebounding Arkansas 57-28. South Carolina recorded 34 defensive rebounds and 23 offensive rebounds compared with the Razorbacks’ 22 and 6, respectively.
Gamecocks limit league’s top scorer
Arkansas guard Izzy Higginbottom entered the game averaging a conference-high 24.1 points per game. That mark put her at No. 5 in the country.
South Carolina forced Higginbottom’s impact on the scoring column to be minimal on Thursday night.
Higginbottom scored just 10 points, making it the third-lowest scoring game of her season. She was 2 for 10 from the field, with seven points in the first half, and 1 for 7 from the field with three points in the second half.
Kiki Smith ultimately led the Razorbacks with 18 points on the night.
“Obviously (Higginbottom) was the key. She was a target on our scouting report,” Staley said. “...We wanted to disrupt and not give her great looks. Just try to make her work for everything. And sometimes when you do that ... then somebody else ends up having a good night. But if you can take the head of the snake, usually you can put yourself in a position where you can win a basketball game.”
After the game Arkansas head coach Mike Neighbors praised South Carolina’s defense, especially Fulwiley, for its ability to limit Higginbottom.
“I take pride in my defense and I work really hard on it,” Fulwiley said. “So just for him to say that means that people see it, and people see that I’m really trying, and I’m putting effort in it. ... I’m just going to keep working on my defense each and every day. I feel like I’m guarding Raven (Johnson) in practice, (Te-Hina) Paopao, some of the best players in college basketball. So they’re helping me get to where I am now.”
South Carolina schedule: Next four games
- Sunday: at Vanderbilt, 3 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Feb. 27: at Ole Miss, 9 p.m. (ESPN or SEC Network)
- March 2: vs. Kentucky, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
- March 5-9: SEC women’s basketball tournament in Greenville
This story was originally published February 20, 2025 at 8:43 PM.
