No. 3 South Carolina WBB blows by Missouri in home finale. Here’s what we learned
South Carolina women’s basketball won its home finale with ease Thursday night.
Dawn Staley and the No. 3 Gamecocks beat Missouri 112-71 at Colonial Life Arena. With the win, South Carolina (28-2, 14-1 SEC) officially clinched the SEC regular-season championship outright after a win last weekend had guaranteed at least a share of the title.
“I think they knew it was at stake. We’ve been mentioning just wanting it outright and doing it on our home court in front of the fans that really have supported us to the nth degree,” Staley said. “And what better way to share it with them?”
This is the eighth time South Carolina has scored over 100 points this season. It’s also the most points USC has scored against a high-major opponent this year.
South Carolina still has one more game remaining before turning its attention to the postseason. The Gamecocks will hit the road for their regular-season finale against Kentucky on Sunday.
“We want to enjoy this moment and like any other time, you’ve got 24 hours,” Staley said. “So we’re gonna enjoy it for 24 hours. Then we wake up tomorrow, we get ready for Kentucky.”
South Carolina’s seniors show out
South Carolina honored four players on senior night before playing Missouri. The four Gamecocks recognized were guards Raven Johnson and Ta’Niya Latson, and forwards Maryam Dauda and Madina Okot.
Johnson finished with 16 points (she was 4 for 6 from 3-point range), five rebounds and five assists. Latson finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
“It hasn’t really hit me yet,” Johnson said of her final regular season game at CLA. “...We have more work to do. We like confetti. I didn’t see no confetti today, so we got more work to do. But I mean, it means a lot. It hasn’t hit me yet. ... The job is not done. We’re gonna get back to the drawing boards tomorrow. Get ready for Kentucky.”
Okot tallied her 19th double-double of the season after finishing with 26 points and 17 rebounds. Dauda was efficient in her 17 minutes on senior night. She finished with eight points and two rebounds.
Johnson received the loudest ovation from the fans during the senior night festivities. Johnson has been with the Gamecocks for five years and was part of the most successful classes in program history.
“Everybody in this building has always loved up on Raven,” Staley said. “And knowing it was going to be her last regular season home game — couldn’t go out any better way.”
There’s a shot that Okot could return next year, despite walking on senior night (as Johnson did last year). Staley said Wednesday that USC plans to appeal for an extra year of eligibility for Okot.
Game MVPs: Joyce Edwards and Madina Okot
South Carolina’s star sophomore has done nothing but score with ease all season long. That was still the case Thursday.
Edwards finished with 23 points against Missouri. Of those, she scored 17 in the first half. Edwards has now scored 20 or more points in 18 games this season. That includes a stretch of seven 20-plus point performances in the last eight games. Edwards was honored for joining the 1,000 career point club before the game.
Okot’s 26 points were a near career high. She also brought in more than 15 rebounds for the fourth time in the last five games.
South Carolina leads from wire to wire
The Gamecocks led for every single second of their win against Missouri.
South Carolina exploded from the beginning and outscored the Tigers 33-13 in the first quarter. The Gamecocks outshot Missouri 54.5% to 25% in that first period. South Carolina built up a 25-point lead going into halftime (57-32) despite being outshot 50% to 39%.
Both teams couldn’t miss a bucket if they tried in the third quarter. Missouri outscored South Carolina 31-28 in the third period. The Tigers out-dueled the Gamecocks and shot 62.7% compared to USC’s 57.9% clip.
The explosion in points from Missouri likely would’ve mattered more in the grand scheme of things if it hadn’t already been trailing by so much. Instead, South Carolina still led 85-63 going into the fourth. The final nail in the coffin was South Carolina outscoring Missouri 27-8 in the fourth quarter.
South Carolina won the rebounding (49-30) and points in the paint battle (60-18) vs. Missouri, but the Tigers were able to light up the floor from 3-point range (12-for-35, seven of which came in the third quarter).
“We gave up 31 points in the third quarter. That’s not a norm,” Staley said. “...This league is good. Like, every team is really good. Every team has momentum. They take momentum during the game. I think our team does a really good job at creating momentum for us. Especially, when people are creating momentum for themselves. I just thought the 3-point shooting for them got a little bit out of hand, then we just started closing out a little bit.”
Injury note
South Carolina junior guard Tessa Johnson did not play vs. Missouri. She was sidelined with an “upper body contusion,” according to the team’s official X/Twitter account.
Johnson was not seen at the small portion of Friday practice local media were permitted to see, but Staley said she practiced and was back with trainers. Johnson was not on Wednesday’s SEC injury report, but was listed on the pregame report Thursday.
Agot Makeer started in Johnson’s place. She finished with four points and five rebounds in 21 minutes.
Sophomore forward Adhel Tac missed her fourth straight game with a lower leg injury. She moved around the court on a scooter that took pressure off her left leg Thursday night.
South Carolina WBB schedule
- Sunday, March 1 at Kentucky, 2 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Friday, March 6 at SEC Tournament Quarterfinals in Greenville, SC (12 p.m. on ESPN)
- Saturday, March 7: SEC Tournament Semifinals in Greenville, SC* (4:30 p.m. on ESPN2)
- Sunday, March 8: SEC Tournament Championship in Greenville, SC* (3 p.m. on ESPN)
*if South Carolina advances.
This story was originally published February 26, 2026 at 9:52 PM.
