No. 2 South Carolina WBB lights up the scoreboard in rout of No. 13 Oklahoma
Oklahoma became the latest Southeastern Conference newcomer to fall victim to Colonial Life Arena on Sunday.
No. 2 South Carolina defended home court vigorously — much like it did when Oklahoma’s former Big 12 mate Texas visited a week ago — and cruised to an easy victory.
Dawn Staley and the No. 2 Gamecocks beat No. 13 Oklahoma 101-60, helping improve their record to 18-1 on the year while remaining a perfect 5-0 in SEC play.
Complete game from the Gamecocks
South Carolina dismantled one of the more talented teams in the country on Sunday.
The Gamecocks limited the No. 4 scoring offense in the country — Oklahoma was averaging 88.1 points per game — to its lowest-scoring performance of the season.
Oklahoma typically shoots 48% from the field as a team (No. 12 in the country) but shot 35.8% on Sunday. The Sooners were shooting just 20% at the end of the first quarter.
South Carolina’s offense played just as well as its defense, passing the century mark on the scoreboard for the first time this season and first time since a win over Kentucky last season. The Gamecocks shot 48% as a team and were solid from 3-point range.
South Carolina was 10-for-28 (35.7%) from beyond the arc, nearly tying its season-high it set against Coppin State.
The Gamecocks had five different players reach double-digits in the scoring column against Oklahoma. Joyce Edwards led with 17 points, followed by MiLaysia Fulwiley (15), Tessa Johnson (13) Sania Feagin (12) and Te-Hina Paopao (11).
MiLaysia ‘Human Highlight Reel’ Fulwiley
Fulwiley has excited from the second she put on a Gamecock uniform and Sunday was no different.
The star sophomore added several new takes to her evergrowing highlight reel against the Sooners.
She had five points in the first quarter, all of which came off exciting plays. The first came on a transition bucket Raven Johnson threw up an alley oop and Fulwiley flew gracefully through the air to complete it with a layup.
Another came at the end of the first quarter when Fulwiley drilled a deep buzzer-beater.
Fulwiley sized up her defender as the clock wound down before hitting nearly half-court 3-pointer to help South Carolina end the first quarter with a loud exclamation point.
“I think (MiLaysia) is being more intentional about making the right basketball play,” Staley said. “So with that, I mean, after she didn’t go when there was like five seconds left I knew she was going to take the three...That wasn’t the first time that she’s done something like that, either. It was just what we needed at the end of a quarter. That kind of deflates you as a defense. And then the building explodes and that is Gamecock basketball and Gamecock reaction to a big play.”
Not all her highlights were scoring though. Fulwiley also logged an assist early after snatching the ball away from an Oklahoma player and throwing it behind her head to Bree Hall for a bucket.
Ball security not a problem
Last week, South Carolina struggled with ball security despite a dominant win over Texas. The Gamecocks turned the ball over a season-high 22 times against the Longhorns.
Exactly one week later, the Gamecocks got back on the right track in the turnover department.
The Gamecocks turned the ball over six times against Oklahoma on Sunday. That’s two off of their the season-low of four they set in November against Purdue.
“One of the keys is to take care of the basketball,” Staley said. “Just don’t play high risk, high reward basketball. Just let the ball find who should shoot it. Let the let the defense dictate who should receive the next pass. And they’re really taking heart to that, because this league is unforgiving and if you give you give extra possessions, they’re gonna make you pay.”
South Carolina schedule: Next four games
- Jan. 23: vs. LSU, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
- Jan. 27: at Tennessee, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
- Feb. 2: vs. Auburn, 12 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 6: at Georgia, 6 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
This story was originally published January 19, 2025 at 4:54 PM with the headline "No. 2 South Carolina WBB lights up the scoreboard in rout of No. 13 Oklahoma."
