No. 3 South Carolina grabs 63rd straight home win in 78-62 victory over South Florida
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Joyce Edwards scored 15 points while Ashlyn Watkins had 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocks as No. 3 South Carolina opened a big lead early and cruised to its 63rd straight win at home with a 78-62 victory over South Florida on Sunday.
The Gamecocks (10-1) started with an 18-4 burst as Bree Hall and Te-Hina Paopao made two 3s apiece and the Bulls (5-6) could not dig themselves out of the hole.
Edwards, a 6-foot-3 freshman, had her career high to lead the team, which finished with five players in double figures.
Sammie Puisis had 19 points with four 3-pointers to lead South Florida, an American Athletic Conference team whose losses have all come against power conference opponents. L’or Mputu finished with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Bulls were down 43-31 at the half, but South Carolina stretched things out with a 23-12 start to the third quarter to take control.
Notables
- The Gamecocks showed off their depth with five players finishing in double figures for the fourth time this season.
- Joyce Edwards led the way for the second time this season with a season-high 15 points, with 10 coming in the second half in just eight minutes of play.
- Sania Feagin dominated the paint putting up a new season-high of 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field.
- Te-Hina Paopao finished in double figures for the seventh time this season (most on the team), highlighted by back-to-back threes in the opening quarter.
- Ashlyn Watkins was key on the defensive end with a new season high of four blocks while finishing with a near-double-double with 10 points and eight boards.
- Bree Hall had an excellent opening quarter scoring six of her nine points after being perfect from behind the arc (2-for-2) and in the field (2-for-2).
- Raven Johnson hit her ninth 3 of the season to cap a 17-7 run by the Gamecocks in the third quarter, while also dishing out a season-high six assists
