It was inevitable, but still impressive.
No. 1 overall seeded South Carolina women’s basketball thrashed No. 16 seed Presbyterian 91-39 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, advancing to play No. 8 seed North Carolina in the second round on Sunday.
South Carolina (33-0) did it not only down Kamilla Cardoso while she was serving her one-game suspension for fighting in the SEC Championship Game, but also missing regular starter Bree Hall for what the team called “precautionary reasons” in a pre-game statement. Dawn Staley confirmed post-game she is "not concerned" about Hall long-term.
"We have two starters out," Staley said. "And I don't -- in preparation of it, I don't think about having two starters out. We just, we are about who we have that's ready to play."
But even down two starters, against an opponent the Gamecocks handled by 70 points in a regular season-matchup, it was all business. The finer points of basketball, those ones which will not define a game with a talent gap this extreme but can be the difference between cutting down a net or watching someone else do it, were in solid form.
After a first-round victory last year where South Carolina missed 16 free throws and committed 12 turnovers, this was a steadier, more consistent tournament-opening performance.
In the first quarter alone the Gamecocks ripped off 27 points on 18 possessions, scoring on all but six trips down the floor and only turning it over once in a ruthlessly efficient start. MiLaysia Fulwiley checked in off the bench for her NCAA Tournament debut and immediately knocked down two 3-pointers in three possessions, a sign of what was to come. She knocked down a career-high five in the game, scoring 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
"It was great," Fulwiley said. "You know, the atmosphere was great because we were home, so I loved that. It was just happy. I was just excited to be here, really, with my teammates and just living in the moment. Just enjoy every step of the way."
There was just as much to like inside, no signs of Cardoso missing in terms of post scoring. Chloe Kitts, Sania Feagin and Ashlyn Watkins all picked up the slack, combining for 40 points and 30 rebounds, paced by 21 and 13 from Kitts.
Te-Hina Paopao made her long-awaited return to March Madness after going once with Oregon in 2022, and announced her presence the only way she knew how: By dropping 18 points, dishing out three assists and hitting four 3-pointers.
"No nerves at all," Paopao said. "I knew coming in that I wanted to see the ball go through the net and see everything go through and make the right reads. There were no nerves at all, I was just really excited."
"No nerves" summed up the vibes. All the worry about if this team would be tight or tense with the weight of last season's Final Four loss or an undefeated season on the line were unfounded, or at least they were Friday. This was the same team it has been all year.
Loose, confident, and completel dominant.
There were some occasional defensive breakdowns. One in particular just before halftime drew Staley's fury as her team jogged up the tunnel. They did clank a few free throws — five to be exact. Starters had to play well into garbage time due to the depth situation.
Small blemishes on an impressive overall performance, a sum-of-the-parts victory South Carolina needed to get back in a groove after 12 days off and get through a game down two starters.
"They made us adjust," Staley said. "And I thought our team did a great job adjusting, especially in the third and fourth quarters. Then we got some really good play."
The NCAA will announce tip-off time and broadcast information for Sunday’s match-up with North Carolina later Friday night.
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