Gamecocks Put Together Complete Game in Win at USF

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Joyce Edwards scored a career-high 34 points on 14-of-15 shooting to lead No. 3 South Carolina to a 103-44 victory over South Florida on Thursday night.

Edwards’ previous career best was 29 points, which she scored last Sunday in a 95-55 win over Penn State.

Tessa Johnson added 16 points, Ta’Niya Latson scored 15 and Madina Okot had 12 points and 10 rebounds for South Carolina (11-1), which shot 62% (44 of 70) from the floor.

Jelena Bulajic scored 10 points to lead USF (6-6). L’or Mputu had six points and seven rebounds.

The Gamecocks went on a 10-0 run midway through the first period and had a 28-15 lead after one. South Carolina pushed the lead to 52-25 at halftime and outscored the Bulls 27-6 in the fourth quarter.

It was the fifth time South Carolina has scored more than 100 points this season and its seventh victory by 40 points or more.

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

• South Carolina’s 74 points in the paint tied the program record originally set on Nov. 24, 2020, against College of Charleston.
• Tonight’s 62.9 percent field goal shooting marked the fourth game this season the Gamecocks shot over 60.0 percent.
• Five Gamecocks finished with double-figure points, marking the fourth game this season with at least that many in double digits.
• Joyce Edwards broke her career high for points for the second time in as many games, turning in 34 tonight on 14-of-15 shooting. That .933 field goal percentage matched Sharon Gilmore’s mark against Marshall on Jan. 8, 1983, for the second highest in program history. The duo just trails a pair of perfect shooting games.
• Madina Okot celebrated her return to the lineup with her eighth double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds in just 21 minutes of action.
• Eight of the nine Gamecocks who took the floor scored at least three points.
• Ta’Niya Latson’s season-high six steals led a defensive effort that also hit a season high of 17 steals,
• After seeing USF shoot 53.8 percent in the first quarter, the Gamecock defense allowed just 12-of-49 (.245) over the final three quarters.