South Carolina WBB crushes Bowling Green. Here are 4 takeaways from the win
Dawn Staley and the No. 2 Gamecocks rolled to another comfortable win over Bowling Green State on Friday night at Colonial Life Arena.
South Carolina led for all but 19 seconds of the game, winning 114-47 to improve to 2-0.
The Gamecocks were led by a stellar performance from Joyce Edwards, who scored a team-high 24 points. Raven Johnson and Madina Okot both recorded double-doubles. Johnson had 11 points and 11 assists. Okot had 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Staley gets a win over another assistant
Friday’s win marks the second time this week that the Gamecocks have beaten an opponent whose head coach is a former South Carolina assistant.
Bowling Green head coach Fred Chmiel was an assistant under Staley from 2015-2023. South Carolina beat Grand Canyon, led by former USC assistant Winston Gandy, on Monday to open its season.
Staley is now 2-0 against Chmiel. Her previous win came when South Carolina beat Bowling Green on the road in the 2023-24 season.
“The environment is incredible,” Chmiel said. “It’s a lot to handle, and it was a lot for us to handle. … You try to warn these young people about what they’re about to walk into. But there’s nothing that duplicates Colonial Life Arena. There’s nothing, nowhere in the country, that duplicates that. I’m proud of my team for their fight in the second half. And I’m very impressed with Coach Staley’s team. I think they’re a national championship-type team.”
Staley is 4-0 against former assistants who left South Carolina to take a head coaching job: Gandy, Chmiel and the late Nikki McCray-Penson.
Another great night on offense
South Carolina’s offense has gotten off to a hot start in the 2025-26 season.
The Gamecocks eclipsed the century mark in the game by scoring 114 points, tied for second most in program history. South Carolina’s season high for points scored last year was 108, in the NCAA Tournament against Tennessee Tech.
“We knew that we have a lot of offense,” Edwards said. “We have impactful freshmen, impactful transfers. I mean, we took in the nation’s leading scorer. We’re literally an offensive team. … Scoring isn’t really a problem for us. Anybody can go off at any time and that’s one of the blessings of being at South Carolina.”
South Carolina shot a whopping 63.6% from the field. Each Gamecock who touched the floor scored and seven South Carolina players scored 10 or more points.
Some of USC’s offensive success early this season can be attributed to the mid-major opponents it has faced. South Carolina’s competition will intensify next week, with games against Clemson and Southern Cal.
Good play from the freshmen
South Carolina got solid production out of freshmen guards Agot Makeer and Ayla McDowell.
Both Makeer and McDowell played more minutes than usual Friday, as Maddy McDaniel, typically the first guard off the bench, was out with an injury.
Makeer had to enter the game very early after Tessa Johnson was hit with two fouls within the first two minutes of the game. Makeer went right to work and scored nine points in nine minutes in the first quarter.
Makeer ended the game with 12 points and three rebounds in 16 minutes An apparent injury forced Makeer to leave late in the third quarter, leading to more minutes for McDowell.
McDowell finished with 11 points and 3 rebounds in 22 minutes.
“Ayla is predictable, and there is nothing more that a coach wants from a freshman is to be predictable,” Staley said. “She is in the right places. She can shoot the ball. … She’s not gonna look like a Raven but her impact on the ball, off the ball, she stays in plays, and she does what we ask of all of our guards. If you just look at her, she plays it picture perfect.”
Injury updates
Makeer left the game late in the third after a missed layup. She came up limping and holding her lower back but stayed in the game to shoot free throws. However, Makeer went to the locker room shortly after and did not return.
Staley didn’t provide any specifics when asked for an update on Makeer after the game.
“I mean, she’s not crying, so that’s a good thing,” Staley said.
McDaniel did not play in Friday’s game after she got hurt in South Carolina’s season opener against Grand Canyon.
Staley said McDaniel was doubtful to play Thursday, but she would warm up with the team and give it a go.
McDaniel, who was not wearing a knee brace and looked fine during the few minutes of post- practice local media was permitted to see Thursday, was wearing a brace on her right knee on Friday.
“We wouldn’t have played her, no,” Staley said of McDaniel. “She’s just loading her up. Trying to see how it responds after just doing probably a little bit more than she’s done in a couple days.”
South Carolina women’s basketball next four games
- Tuesday: vs. Clemson, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)
- Saturday, Nov. 15: vs. Southern Cal in The Real SC in Los Angeles, 9 p.m. (FOX)
- Wednesday, Nov. 19: vs. Winthrop, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Sunday, Nov. 23: vs. Queens, 2 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
This story was originally published November 7, 2025 at 8:51 PM.
