Edwards leads the way as No. 3 Gamecocks defeat Charleston Southern
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Joyce Edwards scored 20 points as No. 2 South Carolina shook off an awful start to win its 64th straight home game, a 82-46 victory over Charleston Southern on Thursday.
The Gamecocks (11-1) get the next 10 days off from competition and may have been thinking about that early on as they made two of their first 13 shots and trailed the Buccaneers 15-11 after 10 minutes.
Bree Hall hit a 3-pointer to start a 23-11 run to gain control and South Carolina pulled away over the final two quarters.
Ashlyn Watkins had eight points, eight rebounds and three of South Carolina’s six blocked shots.
Catherine Alben had 14 points to lead Charleston Southern (4-9), which fell to 0-9 all time against the Gamecocks.
Notables:
- South Carolina shook off a tough offensive first quarter to outscore Charleston Southern by double digits in each of the next three periods, including a 28-10 advantage in the fourth quarter.
- Joyce Edwards led the scoring for the third time this season, posting a career-high 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor and a perfect 8-of-8 at the free throw line. Eleven of her points came in the final quarter.
- Raven Johnson had a strong outing, putting up nine points after draining a 3 as part of a 19-0 run by the Gamecocks in the fourth quarter.
- Ashlyn Watkins was strong on both sides of the ball, scoring eight points to go with her eight boards while also handing out a season-high three assists and half the team’s six blocks.
- Maddy McDaniel grabbed her first career block, dished out a team-high five assists, and knocked down her second 3 of the season to put the Gamecocks back on top in the second quarter, where they remained for the rest of the game.
