Columbia, SC — Joyce Edwards He had 27 points and eight rebounds and the No. 1 seed South Carolina Won their 17th consecutive home women’s NCAA Tournament game with a 103–34 defeat of the 16th seed. South On Saturday.
Edwards and the Gamecocks (32-3) jumped out to a 15-0 lead and never let up against the Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Jaguars (20-14).
“I thought they were very talented tonight,” South Carolina coach Don Staley said of his opponent.
And there was plenty of talent on display for a program seeking its sixth consecutive Final Four.
Edwards was constantly falling down, making 11 of 14 shots and looking free on most possessions. In the second half, he and teammates Tania Latson Forced a turnover near midcourt and after Latson regained control, lofted the ball behind his back to Edwards alone for an easy bucket amid the roar of the home crowd.
“We missed being here. We haven’t been here in a while,” said Staley, whose team improved to 83-1 at Colonial Life Arena over the past five seasons. “I want our players to play happily.”
South Carolina, which was already up by 25 at the break, outscored Southern 32–2 in the third quarter.
Edwards said the team needed to get its time in after not playing since the Southeastern Conference Tournament two weeks ago.
“You could tell we were a little rough in the beginning,” he said. “As a team, we came together and started hitting shots.”
The Gamecocks finished with their second-most points in an NCAA Tournament game (after scoring 108 in the opener against Tennessee Tech the previous year) and had the largest margin of victory in their NCAA Tournament history.
Edwards opened the game with two baskets. Latson added five points in the opening period as Southern started the season on 0-for-7 shooting with six turnovers.
Latson finished with 17 points Madina Okot And agot maker Each had 15 marks. Tessa Johnson He had 14 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
Southern defeated Samford 65–53 in the First Four to win its second NCAA Tournament game. The Jaguars defeated UC San Diego in that round last year, but lost to Final Four team UCLA 84–46.
This time, the Jaguars faced a South Carolina team eager to start the tournament after a disappointing 78–61 loss to Texas in the Southeastern Conference Tournament title game on March 8.
Jocelyn Tate He had 10 points to lead Southern.
Southern coach Carlos Funches understood the huge challenge facing his team. “They’re preparing to win a national championship,” he said of the Gamecocks. “I will do the same.”
parting gift
Southern left with a small gift from Staley, a sample bottle of her Louis Vuitton perfume. Staley spoke to the team at their hotel on Wednesday and while the team hugged and thanked him, more than one player commented on how good the coach smelled. So Staley had to arrange for Jaguar to send some samples.
Staley said, “It was just a little gesture. I had them, I probably wouldn’t use them, they could use them and I just did it.”
South Carolina will next face the No. 8 seed. CLEMSON or number 9 seed Southern California In the second round on Monday.
