No. 3 South Carolina shoots lights out, throttles Tennessee. What we learned
South Carolina came away with a crucial SEC win Sunday.
Dawn Staley and the No. 3 Gamecocks shellacked No. 19 Tennessee 93-50 at home in Colonial Life Arena. The 43-point margin was the worst loss in Lady Vols program history.
The win gives South Carolina (24-2, 10-1 SEC) sole possession of first place in the conference with five games remaining in the regular season.
South Carolina and Tennessee were back and forth to start the game and the Volunteers even held the lead for three minutes early in the game. The Gamecocks jumped ahead with two minutes remaining in the first and never relinquished the lead again.
South Carolina outscored Tennessee 22-14 in the second quarter and 24-9 in the third quarter to build the insurmountable lead to over 40 points. The Gamecocks nearly held Tennessee scoreless in the fourth quarter before the Volunteers scored nine points in the last three minutes of the game.
Ta’Niya Latson shines in her return
Staley got one of her stars back after a brief absence.
Ta’Niya Latson left South Carolina’s game vs Auburn on Jan. 29 and missed the last two games with a lower leg injury. She returned to the starting lineup against Tennessee on Sunday and played with a brace on her left leg.
Latson showed no signs of rust in the win over the Volunteers.
“I felt good,” Latson said. “I played in a knee brace before at Florida State, so I wasn’t too foreign to that. Just getting back in shape and getting reps in at practice has helped me a lot going into the game.”
She scored a team-high 21 points and was 9-for-15 from the field. Latson also tallied four steals in 29 minutes of action.
“I think that the knee brace gave her some security,” Staley said. “...[Medical staff and trainers] got her in a comfortable mindset, and I think Ta’Niya got herself in a comfortable mindset.”
Offensive barrage from South Carolina
Latson wasn’t the only Gamecock to have a good day on offense. The entire team seemingly couldn’t miss t on Sunday.
South Carolina shot 69.2% from the field as a team. That mark is the highest in single-game history for the Gamecocks vs. an SEC opponent and is just shy of the all-time program record.
All but one of the Gamecocks who touched the floor vs. Tennessee were able to score at least one points. Joyce Edwards joined Latson with 20 or more points. In all, five different Gamecocks finished with double-digits in the scoring column.
South Carolina did all that despite Tennessee’s constant full-court press. Sure, the Gamecocks turned the ball over 19 times, but they were able to score 28 points in the fast break and 54 points in the post.
Injury note
The Gamecocks were without Maddy McDaniel and Agot Makeer against Tennessee.
McDaniel was added to the SEC injury report two hours before the game. She was seen with a boot on her left ankle on the bench.
“No update on Maddy,” Staley said. “I just knew she wasn’t playing today. She’ll be evaluated every day. It’s good that we have somewhat of a bye week. Maddy wants to play. I know that. So when you have the mindset of wanting to play, it helps the body heal a little bit quicker.”
Makeer has now missed the last three games with a lower leg injury. Makeer was dressed out for some of South Carolina’s pregame warmup but was in street clothes on the bench in the game alongside McDaniel.
South Carolina did get Tessa Johnson back on Sunday. Johnson, who missed the second half of South Carolina’s game vs Mississippi State on Thursday, finished with 14 points.
What this means for SEC standings
South Carolina gained total control of the SEC with a win Sunday.
The Gamecocks are now 10-1 in SEC play and are the lone team with one loss in conference play. Tennessee entered the matchup with a 7-1 record but is now 7-2 and in a three-way tie for second place in the SEC with Texas and Vanderbilt after the loss.
“We just got to continue to play how we played tonight and just get better,” Latson said. “We know there’s going to be a target on our back. We’re number one in the SEC, but we’re not going to take that for granted. We’re going to keep our foot on the gas pedal and keep going.”
South Carolina now has some wiggle room ahead of its biggest game in conference play next week at LSU. USC has the tiebreaker over Texas, Vanderbilt and Tennessee — if the Gamecocks were to lose to LSU on Sunday and be tied for second in the SEC standings.
South Carolina WBB’s next four games
- Feb. 14 at LSU, 8:30 p.m. (ABC)
- Feb. 19 at Alabama, 8:30 (SEC Network)
- Feb. 22 vs Ole Miss, 12 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2)
- Feb. 26 vs Missouri, 8 p.m. (SEC Network)
This story was originally published February 8, 2026 at 4:57 PM.
