South Carolina WBB wins big in first exhibition. Three things we learned
South Carolina women’s basketball cruised to an easy victory in its first exhibition of the year against Anderson.
The second-ranked Gamecocks shellacked the Trojans 112-31 in Colonial Life Arena. South Carolina was led by a 27-point performance from Joyce Edwards, who also had eight rebounds and three assists.
“I like what Joyce was doing,” Staley said. “Joyce is stepping into a familiar role, because she’s been that all of her career, and now she gets to do it on the collegiate level. I was really proud of how she played defense, and got on the floor for loose balls, and just being competitive, like we know she can be. We know she can score the basketball. We got to get her to rebound the basketball. Gotta get her play some defense and really just walk into her dominance as well.”
Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks showed very little rust in their first bit of action this season.
Dominant first half
As expected, South Carolina made easy work of its Division II opponent on Friday night. That was especially the case in the first half.
Anderson shot just 13% from the field to begin the game and was only able to put eight points on the scoreboard in the entire first half. The Gamecocks forced Anderson to turn the ball over 13 times in the first half alone.
All but two Gamecocks logged a steal in the first half. Freshman Agot Makeer led with three steals, and Raven Johnson had two.
South Carolina scored 61 points before halftime. All but one Gamecock scored in the first half. Edwards led with 13 points at the break, and Madina Okot was right behind her with 11 points. The Gamecocks shot 52% from the field in the first half.
Checking in on the newcomers
South Carolina’s newcomers — true freshmen Ayla McDowell and Makeer, along with transfers Ta’Niya Latson and Okot — all found ways to make an impact on the box score.
The 6-foot-6 Okot was dominant in the post. She showed she could speed up the floor in transition and tallied a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds.
“You can see her dominance,” Staley said of Okot. “It ebbs and flows, but you can actually see it. Once you see it, you can build on it. Really, just really scratching the surface when it comes to the things that she could do out there.”
Latson finished with 14 points and seven rebounds and three assists in the game.
Makeer and McDowell both made the most of their minutes. Makeer finished with 16 points, four assists and five steals. McDowell finished with six points.
“I thought Agot really showed what she can do on both sides of the basketball,” Staley said. “She’s a really high IQ player that’s very skilled. So I like what she contributed.”
First look at the rotation
Staley gave fans their first look at how the Gamecocks’ rotation will look in the 2025-26 season.
Raven Johnson, Latson, Tessa Johnson, Edwards and Okot were South Carolina’s starters in the game.
Staley subbed her starters out one player at a time in the first quarter.
Though South Carolina works on its rotations in practice, Staley said the preseason exhibitions are important the Gamecocks to see how everything looks in game setting.
“It’s extremely important to see people step up and give us something that maybe we didn’t see a whole lot in practice,” Staley said.
Sophomore guard Maddy McDaniel was the first player of the bench in the game. She subbed in with 5:55 remaining in the first quarter.
McDaniel was followed by Makeer off the bench. Adhel Tac subbed in for Okot then McDowell took Tessa Johnson’s spot. Maryam Dauda was the final substitution, taking Edwards spot on the floor.
Edwards led the team with 26 minutes played.
Next four games: South Carolina women’s basketball
- Thursday: vs North Carolina 6 p.m. (exhibition in Atlanta) p.m.
- Nov. 3: vs Grand Canyon, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Nov. 7: vs Bowling Green, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Nov. 11: vs Clemson, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)
This story was originally published October 24, 2025 at 8:47 PM.
