Ta’Niya Latson returns as No. 3 Gamecocks top Georgia. Next up is No. 2 Texas
South Carolina women’s basketball returned home to the friendly confines of Colonia Life Arena on Sunday after a two-game road slate. The Gamecocks secured another SEC win.
Dawn Staley and No. 3 South Carolina (17-1) beat Georgia 65-43 to improve to 4-0 to start conference play.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half, but South Carolina was able to find a groove in the second half. It’s the second time in SEC play the Gamecocks have overcome offensive struggles to get a win (USC shot a season-low 34.3% in beating Florida).
South Carolina held Georgia to a new season-low points in the game (UGA’s previous low was 59 on Thursday against LSU).
The Gamecocks were led by 14-point performances from both Madina Okot and Joyce Edwards. Raven Johnson finished with 10 points.
South Carolina now turns its attention to its biggest matchup of SEC play yet: a rematch with Texas. The No. 2 Longhorns dealt South Carolina its only loss of the season on a buzzer beater in Las Vegas in November. The Gamecocks will play Texas at home at 7 p.m. Thursday.
“You’re gonna have to put more than 65 points on the scoreboard to beat Texas, I think,” Staley said. “...We have to put it together. We got to have a really solid game on both sides of the ball to beat Texas. It’s a big game for us. Everyone knows that. A lot of implications regarding the game that are near and far.”
Ta’Niya Latson makes her return
Senior guard Ta’Niya Latson made her SEC debut with the Gamecocks on Sunday.
Latson had missed the last three games (all of which were SEC games) after she left South Carolina’s penultimate non-conference game against Providence with an ankle sprain on Dec. 28.
“Obviously, it sucks not being out there, but I was able to learn from Chloe [Kitts] and from my coaching staff, and just seeing things differently,” Latson said. “I feel like today I just got my feet wet. I’m just looking to continue to build off of this today and take these things day by day.”
Latson played 20 minutes in her return, scoring nine points and tallying three rebounds and three assists. Latson’s drilled her first shot of the day (and of the calendar year) when she made a 3-pointer early in the game.
“It felt good,” Latson said of the 3-pointer. “I just shot it with confidence and it just eased my nerves a little bit. Obviously, I know I needed to take that shot just to my jitters out.”
Staley opted to slide Latson immediately back into the starting lineup in her first game back. Freshman wing Agot Makeer had been starting in her place.
Spurts of offensive woes on both sides
Both teams struggled to find consistent success on offense in the game.
For example, Georgia scored just 14 points in the first half (the Bulldogs scored seven points in each of the first two quarters). Georgia’s shooting woes were highlighted by a nearly eight-minute scoring drought to end the first quarter.
Some of the Bulldogs’ offensive struggles can certainly be attributed to the South Carolina defense. The Gamecocks limited Georgia to a 23.1% shooting percentage in the first half and forced 11 turnovers.
Georgia shot 27% as a team for the game and turned the ball over 18 times.
South Carolina had its own struggles on offense. The Gamecocks shot 31.9% from the field in the first half and led 30-14 going into the break. USC was able to find some momentum coming out of halftime.
The Gamecocks shot 43.8% as a team in the third quarter and 50% in the fourth quarter to ultimately finish the game with a 37.9% shooting clip.
“I thought we just played sped up,” Staley said. “I just thought we just took rough shots. I don’t even think the defense was really impacting it. I thought we just were out of sync...Offensively, just off and the field goal percentage shows it. It’s not to say that Georgia did not play good defense. It wasn’t that, but I thought it was more us. It wasn’t our normal shooting motions. Everything was too fast with more than two or three people.”
Game MVPs: Joyce Edwards and Madina Okot
South Carolina’s two starting forwards had nearly identical stat lines for a majority of the game.
Edwards finished with 14 points and seven rebounds while Okot finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and one assist.
Okot’s performance was good enough for her 13 double-double on the year.
“I thought Madina made some adjustments and making quicker moves out there,” Staley said.
South Carolina WBB’s next four games
- Thursday vs Texas, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
- Jan. 18 at Coppin State, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)
- Jan. 22 at Oklahoma, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
- Jan. 25 vs Vanderbilt, 3 p.m. (ESPN)
This story was originally published January 11, 2026 at 3:47 PM.
