Sweet revenge: South Carolina WBB cruises past Oklahoma to Elite Eight
There’s an adage in sports that it’s hard to beat the same team twice in one season.
South Carolina women’s basketball lended support to that view on Saturday.
Dawn Staley and the No. 1 seed Gamecocks beat No. 4 seed Oklahoma 94-68 in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament in Sacramento.
The win gives South Carolina some revenge after Oklahoma dealt the Gamecocks one of their three losses this season, back in January.
The victory secured a spot in the Elite Eight for South Carolina. The Gamecocks will play No. 3 seed TCU at 9 p.m. on Monday night.
South Carolina’s appearance in the Elite Eight has become the norm in March Madness. The Gamecocks have now advanced that far in the tournament six seasons in a row.
Gamecocks lead from start to finish
The last time South Carolina and Oklahoma played, the game went to overtime.
That was not the case in Sacramento on Saturday.
South Carolina led for all 40 minutes of the game. The closest the Sooners came to taking the lead was when there was a two-point deficit in the game … immediately after the Gamecocks’ first basket. South Carolina opened the game on a 10-0 run and hovered around a double-digit lead for most of the first quarter.
The Gamecocks outscored Oklahoma 24-15 in the second quarter and took a 19-point lead into halftime (47-28 score).
South Carolina and Oklahoma each scored 21 points in the third quarter, but the Gamecocks were able to build up a 25-point lead at one point. South Carolina led by as many as 29 points in the fourth quarter before ultimately pulling out the 26-point win.
“We have a lot of room to grow,” South Carolina’s Raven Johnson said. “I think we’re growing at the right time. It’s crazy because our bigs, they can do — I thought they did really good with what — okay. They took what they were given, and I think they did a really good job of that. I think we have a lot of room to grow. And everybody’s clicking. I feel like the ceiling is high for us.”
Dynamic duo gets it done for South Carolina
The one-two punch of Raven Johnson and Ta’Niya Latson proved to be too much for Oklahoma on Saturday.
Johnson and Latson totaled 46 points between them in the win. That marks the most the former high school teammates have combined for during their shared season with the Gamecocks. The previous high was 41 points vs. LSU in the SEC Tournament semifinals.
Johnson finished with 18 points, and Latson finished with 28.
“I was feeling really good tonight,” Latson said. “I woke up on the right side of the bed. My teammates and my coaches, they believed in me. I just had to go out there with confidence. That was the game plan.”
Latson and Johnson were the only players to score more than 10 points in the first half.
Battle in the paint
The January matchup between South Carolina and Oklahoma was highlighted by a battle in the post that the Gamecocks lost.
Last time out, Oklahoma outrebounded South Carolina 54-39. The Sooners were led by a 14-point, 18-rebound performance from star forward Raegan Beers.
This time around, though, South Carolina was able to control the boards. South Carolina outrebounded Oklahoma 39-36 in the game.
The Gamecocks were able to limit Beers’ production for most of the game. She finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Madina Okot struggled against Oklahoma in January but was more productive on Saturday. Both Okot and forward Joyce Edwards started slow in the Sweet 16 matchup but flirted with double-doubles. Okot finished with nine points and 12 rebounds, while Edwards tallied eight points and nine rebounds.
“Madina, to me, is probably one of her stronger games just from a mental standpoint,” Staley said. “The last time we played Oklahoma, she was on a mental struggle bus. It was the whole pressure of playing for us and having to perform at a high level for us. She didn’t get the points that she probably wanted to get. But the rebounding, she’s able to turn a page and know that her contributions in other areas help us win. I like where she is right now.”
South Carolina WBB’s Elite Eight matchup
- Who: No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 3 TCU
- When: 9 p.m. ET Monday
- Where: Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California
- TV: ESPN
This story was originally published March 28, 2026 at 6:57 PM.
