No. 2 Gamecocks pour it on, spoil Vanderbilt’s perfect start. What we learned
South Carolina women’s basketball got back in the win column in dominant fashion Sunday.
Dawn Staley and the No. 2 Gamecocks beat No. 5 Vanderbilt 103-74 at home in Colonial Life Arena. The win halted Vanderbilt’s perfect start and came after USC was upset by No. 16 Oklahoma in overtime on Thursday.
With the result, South Carolina (20-2, 6-1 SEC) has now won at least 20 games for the 15th-straight season. South Carolina junior guard Tessa Johnson said the Oklahoma loss fueled the Gamecocks on Sunday.
“We don’t like to lose, but I would say it was more of how we lost. We were not ourselves at Oklahoma, but I think it just kind of gave us a little boost,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, we had to lose, but it gave us a little boost, and we got back on our game tonight.”
The Gamecocks put up an all-around effort Sunday to beat the Commodores (20-1, 6-1 SEC). USC had five different players reach double-digit scoring, led by a 21-point performance for Ta’Niya Latson. South Carolina’s defense forced Vanderbilt, which averages just 12.5 turnovers a game, to turn the ball over 20 times
Vanderbilt star guard Mikayla Blakes was still able to score 23 points in the game, but the Gamecocks limited her supporting cast. Just one other Commodore finished with more than 10 points.
Gamecocks set the tone early
South Carolina didn’t look like a team coming off an upset loss.
The Gamecocks started fast and were near perfect on both sides of the ball in the first quarter. South Carolina started the game on an 11-2 run. The USC defense forced Vanderbilt to turn the ball over three times in the first 1:13 of the game and was able to score nine of those first 11 points in less than a minute.
South Carolina had six different players score in the first quarter and shot 72.% from the field and 75% from 3-point range. The Gamecocks led 33-16 at the end of the first quarter. That’s the most points Vanderbilt has allowed in a single quarter in this season.
South Carolina led by as many as 21 in the second quarter, but Vanderbilt found some rhythm on offense. The Commodores, powered by Blakes, outscored South Carolina 28-22 in the period — and a 6-0 run in the final seconds of the first half cut USC’s lead to 55-44 at halftime.
Offense firing on all cylinders
The Gamecocks shot 61.5% from the field as a team for the entire game.
According to ESPN’s broadcast, the 55 points South Carolina scored in the first half was the most allowed by Vanderbilt in a half this season. It was also the most USC has scored in a half against a ranked opponent this year.
The Gamecocks also shot a season high from 3-point range. South Carolina was 10 for 17 from beyond the arc.
South Carolina found success in the paint against Vanderbilt after it struggled there against Oklahoma. USC scored 56 points in the paint, compared with Vanderbilt’s 24.
A change in the starting five
Staley tweaked South Carolina’s starting lineup on Sunday.
The typical lineup this season has been: Raven Johnson, Ta’Niya Latson, Tessa Johnson, Joyce Edwards and Madina Okot. But Staley opted to start freshman guard Agot Makeer in place of Okot against Vanderbilt.
“I thought just starting a smaller lineup, we could apply a lot more pressure than we normally do, and also just floor spacing from an offensive standpoint,” Staley said. “I want to make sure that I say this, Madina is not the scapegoat at all...It was totally giving her a look at the game, just take a little bit of pressure off of her.”
Makeer played well in her fourth-career start. She had two points and two steals to kickstart South Carolina’s run at the beginning of the game. Makeer ended with the game with eight points in 16 minutes.
Okot struggled against Oklahoma (six points and four rebounds ) but looked more like her usual double-double averaging self against the Commodores. Okot finished with 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench for South Carolina.
“I feel like Madina played extremely well,” Latson said. “She went out there and she got back to herself. (Makeer ) gave us great minutes in the starting lineup today, she played great defense.”
GAME MVPs: Tessa Johnson and Ta’Niya Latson
It was almost as if Latson and Johnson were going shot for shot on Sunday.
Latson had a much better outing against Vanderbilt than she did against Oklahoma. She scored 21 points after her six-point game against the Sooners. Latson was 8 for 15 from the field and also tallied five rebounds and five assists.
“I knew it wasn’t my best game,” Latson said. “I knew I had to bring more, especially going into a top five matchup and playing a team like Vandy. We had personal conversations, and we had to watch a lot of film. It’s just a learning experience. So I knew tonight I had to go out there and just be myself. “
Johnson made four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points on 7 for 12 shooting.
South Carolina women’s basketball next four games
- Thursday at Auburn, 9 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 2 at Texas A&M, 8 p.m. (ESPN2/ESPNU)
- Feb. 5 vs Mississippi State, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 8 vs Tennessee, 3 p.m. (ABC)
This story was originally published January 25, 2026 at 4:56 PM.
