South Carolina tops Southern Cal in The Real SC matchup

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Joyce Edwards had 17 points and 10 rebounds and No. 2 South Carolina beat Jazzy Davidson and eighth-ranked Southern California 69-52 on Saturday night in a matchup billed as The Real SC at Crypto.com Arena.

Raven Johnson and Tessa Johnson scored 14 points each for the Gamecocks (4-0).

Kennedy Smith scored 12 points and Kara Dunn added 10 to the lead for the Trojans (2-1), whose star player watched from the end of the bench. JuJu Watkins isn’t playing this season while rehabbing from a torn ACL sustained in the NCAA Tournament in March.

Davidson, a highly touted freshman, had eight points on 4 of 11 shooting and four turnovers. She was coming off a 21-point performance in a 69-68 win over then-No. 9 North Carolina State.

Leading by two at halftime, the Gamecocks took control in the third. They outscored the Trojans 23-15, including 10 by Edwards and two 3-pointers by Tessa Johnson, for a 55-45 lead going into the fourth. USC missed five of its first seven shots and had three turnovers.

The Trojans were held to seven points in the fourth and finished 1-of-14 from 3-point range. They got out-rebounded 56-32. Madina Okot had a season-high 15 rebounds for the Gamecocks.

Neither team shot well in first half when the Gamecocks led by 10 after USC stumbled out of the gate. Davidson fell and turned the ball over before picking up two quick fouls and sitting down.

The Trojans regrouped in the second quarter, using a 12-4 run to grab their first lead of the game before Malia Samuels hit a jumper at the halftime buzzer that left them trailing 32-30.

South Carolina improved to 4-0 against the Trojans, winning for the third time under coach Dawn Staley. The teams first met in 1980.

The Sprouts Farmers Market The Real SC matchup resumes with a second game set for next November in South Carolina.

Notables

• After a nearly identical first half, the Gamecocks finished strong, out-rebounding the Trojans 56-32, and dominating the paint 44-28.
• Four Gamecocks finished in double-figures scoring for the fourth consecutive game, while also marking the third game in which at least four starters have been on that list.
• Joyce Edwards led the way in scoring for the third game in a row, posting 17 points with 10  boards for her first double-double of the season and the fifth of her career, in addition to a team-high two blocks and two steals.
• Raven Johnson also tallied her second double-double of the season, finishing with a season-high 14 points and 11 boards. Eight of her 14 points came in the opening quarter, stemming from a team-high two threes.
• Tessa Johnson had a strong second half, scoring 10 of her 14 points while draining two 3s in the third quarter to give the Gamecocks their largest lead of the game at that point (11).
• Ta’Niya Latson had her fourth consecutive game in double-digits, scoring 12 for South Carolina with half coming as part of a 10-4 run by the Gamecocks in the third quarter to get on top by 10.
• Madina Okot was a rebounding machine, grabbing 15 boards for her most as a Gamecock while adding six points in the first half.