Latson, Johnson lead No. 2 Gamecocks to 103-74 win over No. 5 Vanderbilt

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Ta’Niya Latson scored 21 points, Tessa Johnson added 20 and No. 2 South Carolina ended No. 5 Vanderbilt’s unbeaten start to the season with a 103-74 victory on Sunday.

The Commodores had won a school record 20 straight games to start the season, but had no answer for South Carolina, which has won 19 straight over Vanderbilt.

The Gamecocks (20-2, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) came in off an 94-82 overtime loss at No. 16 Oklahoma this past Thursday and right from the start took it out on the Commodores (20-1, 6-1).

South Carolina went on an 11-2 burst less than two minutes in and gradually built the lead to 21 points in the second quarter. The Gamecocks’ defense did much of the damage, forcing 16 first-half turnovers against a Vanderbilt team averaging 12.5 per game this season.

The Commodores gave themselves a chance right before halftime as Mikayla Blakes had a three-point play with 3.5 seconds left and — after South Carolina tried a court-length football pass that went straight out of bounds — Aubrey Galvan’s three as time expired to trail by 11 at the break.

Vanderbilt opened with two straight baskets in the third quarter to draw within 55-48. That’s when South Carolina went on a 15-2 burst to take control for good.

Blakes, the SEC’s leading scorer, had 23 points to lead Vanderbilt. She also have five of her team’s 20 turnovers which matched a season high.

Madina Okot finished with 17 points while Joyce Edwards had 16 to give South Carolina five double-digit scorers against a team holding opponents to 58 points this season.

It was South Carolina’s second league victory against a Top 5 opponent in the past four contests after defeating fourth-ranked Texas 68-65 on Jan. 15.

Gamecock Notables

• The win over Vanderbilt marked the 19th consecutive victory for the Gamecocks over the Commodores, with all 19 coming during the Dawn Staley era.
• With the 103-74 win, South Carolina became the first team to score 100+ points vs. an AP top-5 team since 2023 (102-85, LSU vs. Iowa), and the 29-point margin of victory marked the largest over a top-5 team in the poll era.
• The Gamecocks finished with 33 points in the first quarter, marking the most in a single quarter this season, and tallied 56 points in the paint for the most against an SEC opponent this year.
• Since 2019-20, South Carolina has won the game following a loss (11 games) by an average of 27.1 points.
• The last time South Carolina lost back-to-back games was in 2018-19.
• Nine of 10 Gamecocks who hit the floor got on the board, with five finishing in double figures and two of those scoring 20+.
• Ta’Niya Latson put up 21 points for her fifth game this season with 20+, also adding five boards, five assists and grabbing two steals along the way.
• Tessa Johnson tied her season high of 20 points, knocking down four 3s to tie her career-high in an SEC game.
• Madina Okot had a near double-double, netting 17 points after going 8-for-9 from the floor and grabbing a team-high seven boards and a career-high tying five steals.
• Joyce Edwards finished with 16 points, while also grabbing a team-high seven boards and dishing out six assists to lead the team in both categories for the third time this season.
• Raven Johnson added 10 points with two 3s along the way, also spreading the love with six assists to tie for the fourth most career assists in SEC games in program history (193).