STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Chloe Kitts had 17 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 2 South Carolina erase a double-digit deficit and beat Mississippi State 95-68 on Sunday.
Mississippi State had an 11-point lead midway through the second quarter before the game shifted. South Carolina outscored the Bulldogs 19-2 in the final five minutes of the period to get the lead and extend it to 42-34 at halftime. The Gamecocks never looked back.
The defending national champions outscored the Bulldogs 26-11 in the third to earn the rout. The Gamecocks (13-1, 2-0 SEC) got 20 points from Tessa Johnson, who made four 3-pointers. Te-Hina PaoPao finished with 15 points, five assists and four rebounds and Joyce Edwards had 10 points.
Jerkaila Jordan had 24 points to lead the Bulldogs (13-3, 0-2). Destiney McPhaul had 14 points off the bench and Eniya Russell scored 12.
Notables
- With the win over Mississippi State, South Carolina marked its 49th straight regular-season SEC victory, extending its league record and moving into eighth place in NCAA history for conference win streak. It was the 40th straight win including SEC Tournament play, also an SEC record.
- After facing an 11-point deficit in the second quarter, the Gamecocks went on a 16-0 run to flip the script and overcome the largest deficit this season to earn the win.
- The Gamecocks shot 53.8 percent (35-for-65) from the floor against the Bulldogs for their second-highest field goal percentage this season.
- Tessa Johnson led the offense for the first time this season after finishing with a new career-high 22 points, scoring 16 of them in the first half for the most of any Gamecock in a half this year. Johnson tied her career-high of four threes, all coming in a 16-0 run in the second quarter to help South Carolina take the lead.
- Chloe Kitts grabbed her fourth double-double of the season after putting up a new SEC career-high 17 points and 10 boards. Seven of her points came in the second quarter highlighted by the game-tying basket that set the Gamecocks up for a 25-2 run.
- Te-Hina Paopao had her third consecutive game in double-figures, scoring 15 points with nine coming from beyond the arc.
- Freshman Joyce Edwards posted her ninth game in double-digits, her fourth in the last five games.
- Raven Johnson was excellent on both sides of the ball scoring nine points while dishing out a team-high five assists and grabbing a career-high tying five steals, the most of any Gamecock this season.
