HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – No. 2 South Carolina climbed from eighth to fifth after shooting a 9-over 293 in the second round of the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate on Saturday. The Gamecocks own a two-round total of 592 (+24) entering the final round of the tournament the program hosts at the Long Cove Club.

Sophomore Katelyn Dambaugh led the Gamecocks with a round of even par (71), giving her a 36-hole total of 147 (+5). Dambaugh’s round sent her 31 spots up the leaderboard to 17th place. Junior Mary Fran Hillow carded four birdies to lead South Carolina, but ultimately finished at 3-over for the day, matching her first-round 74. Hillow owns a two-round total of 148 (+6) to enter the final day in 21st place.

After struggling on the first two holes, senior Justine Dreher settled down, going 1-under on the final 16 holes to finish at 2-over for the day. Dreher carded a second-round 73 and is 10-over for the tournament at 152. Junior Sarah Schmelzel is also 10-over after two rounds after going 4-over today (75). The pair is tied for 45th place entering the final round.

The Gamecocks dropped sophomore Jia Xin Yang’s score of 76 (+5). Yesterday, Yang paced the Gamecocks with a round of even par and is 6-over (148) after the first two rounds and is the third Gamecock top.

Playing as an individual, freshman Ainhoa Olarra fired a 5-over 76 on Saturday and is 7-over (T29) for the tournament.

Duke posted a 1-under 283 in the second round to take over the lead from Southern Cal, who dropped to third at 13-over. The Blue Devils are 8-over (576) for the tournament and own a one-stroke lead over LSU (577, +9). Duke’s Leona Maguire shot a tournament record 65 (-6) to jump from 16th to first on the individual board. Maguire is 4-under for the tournament. LSU’s Madelene Sagstrom is just one stroke behind after firing a second-round 68 for a 36-hole total of 139 (-3).

KEY STAT

The Gamecocks more than doubled their number of birdies on the back nine from yesterday. After posting three on the back nine yesterday, South Carolina produced seven on the same stretch today.

QUOTABLE South Carolina Head Coach Kalen Harris
Overall, it was a much better day. We hung in there a little bit better than yesterday. We did have some ups and downs throughout the day, but the team fought a lot harder today and really hung in there. This golf course is tough. I think we played the difficult stretch of holes well. From No. 7 to No. 14, we played pretty well. They did a good job and we moved up the board to fifth today. That should hopefully put us in the position to finish in the top five in a really, really strong field. I think it looks like Duke, Southern Cal and LSU are pretty far ahead, but if we can salvage after yesterday and finish in the top five in this field, it would be a good result based on where we started.

UP NEXT South Carolina tees off in the final round tomorrow morning at 8:45 a.m. Follow live scoring here.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS

T17. Katelyn Dambaugh 76-71=147 (+5)
T21. Mary Fran Hillow 74-74=148 (+6)
T21. Jia Xin Yang 72-76=148 (+6)
T29. Ainhoa Olarra (Ind.) 73-76=149 (+7)
T45. Justine Dreher 79-73=152 (+10)
T45. Sarah Schmelzel 77-75=152 (+10)

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Duke 293-283=576 (+8)
2. LSU 291-286=577 (+9)
3. Southern Cal 285-296=581 (+13)
4. Mississippi State 300-291=591 (+23)
5. South Carolina 299-293=592 (+24)
6. Tennessee 300-294=594 (+26)
7. Wake Forest 303-293=596 (+28)
8. Furman 300-297=597 (+29)
9. Arkansas 293-306=599 (+31)
10. Alabama 303-300=603 (+35)
T11. North Carolina 293-312=605 (+37)
T11. Auburn 298-308=606 (+37)
13. Arizona State 298-308=606 (+38)
T14. Vanderbilt 301-306=607 (+39)
T14. Virginia 304-303=607 (+39)
16. Georgia 303-311=614 (+46)
17. Kentucky 310-309=619 (+51)