No. 6 South Carolina opens SEC road swing with convincing win over Vanderbilt
No. 6 South Carolina wrapped up a successful trip to Nashville with a win on Sunday.
Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks beat Vanderbilt 82-54 as part of a two-game SEC road swing. The win improves South Carolina’s record to 25-3 on the year and 13-1 in conference play.
The Gamecocks led from wire-to-wire in the game, and the victory is the 17th straight over the Commodores for South Carolina.
USC has two conference games remaining in the regular season.
Fulwiley, Gamecocks’ Big 3 lead the way
Joyce Edwards, MiLaysia Fulwiley and Te-Hina Paopao are South Carolina’s top three scorers for a reason.
The three led South Carolina, once again, against Vanderbilt. Fulwiley tied a career-high with 24 points, Edwards finished with 17 points and Paopao had 13.
“I felt like I had to bring my A game this game,” Fulwiley said. “I kind of lacked confidence this season, but I felt like it came at the right time. I just came out there like no one could guard me and it showed.”
They were the only Gamecocks to score more than 10 points in the game.
Edwards, Fulwiley and Paopao also impacted the game outside of the scoring column.
Edwards recorded her third double-double of the year with 12 rebounds, 10 of which were on the offensive glass. She also had two blocks and three steals.
“She’s a go getter, man,” Fulwiley said of Edwards. “She just makes me so excited by the way she just scores so easily. She hypes me up. She motivates me to want to be better.”
Fulwiley added two steals and four rebounds. Paopao had four assists and three steals.
South Carolina strong on the glass
South Carolina out-rebounded Vanderbilt 47-35.
The first half was highlighted by the Gamecocks recording 31 rebounds compared with the Commodores’ 17.
South Carolina’s dominance on the glass didn’t always translate to points in the first half. The Gamecocks brought in 14 offensive rebounds in the first half but were only able to log nine second-chance points. The Gamecocks finished with 17 second-chance points.
South Carolina was actually out-rebounded by Vanderbilt 18-16 in the second half, including an 11-6 difference on the offensive glass.
Streaky offense levels out for the Gamecocks
South Carolina was by no means terrible on offense against Vanderbilt, but there were moments early where the Gamecocks were less than stellar.
USC notched a strong first quarter, scoring 24 points and shooting 47.1% from the field as a team to start the game.
In the second quarter, South Carolina was outscored 14-11 by Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks made just five of their field goals in that quarter, and their field goal percentage was 23.8%.
Things started to level out in the second half for South Carolina.
The Gamecocks scored 21 points in the third quarter thanks to a 54.5% shooting clip from the field. South Carolina’s defense was stellar in that period as well, holding Vanderbilt to a 17.6% mark in the period.
South Carolina’s offense stayed in a rhythm in the fourth quarter. The Gamecocks scored 26 in the fourth quarter and shot 68.8% as a team.
For the game, South Carolina shot 46.2%.
South Carolina schedule: Upcoming games
- Thursday: 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 23, 2025 at 5:04 PM.
