It was a tailor-made match-up, but you still have to take advantage of the mismatch.
And South Carolina did.
South Carolina women’s basketball won its third game in a row over a top-20 team, dismantling No. 13 Oklahoma 101-60 at Colonial Life Arena in a game with no drama after the first quarter.
The Gamecocks were ruthless, efficient and forceful in their overpowering performance, making light work of the Sooners.
Oklahoma (15-4, 3-3 SEC) entered the game dead last in the SEC in turnovers, averaging 19.2 per game and 24 in SEC play. For all their success as an elite shooting team and rebounding team, the Sooners were ripe for a team with quick guards and transition potency to pick them off.
Enter MiLaysia Fulwiley and Raven Johnson, who feasted on the match-up and ran Oklahoma out of the gym with their trademark blend of speed and precision. South Carolina (18-1, 6-0 SEC) forced 22 turnovers and scored 32 points off of them, taking a 20-2 advantage in points off turnovers into halftime as the contest was well decided by then.
Fulwiley dropped two plays ticketed for season-long highlight reels in the space of a minute to end the first quarter. First she finished off a showtime-esque fast break with Johnson and Chloe Kitts, catching a cross-court lob from Johnson and finishing with a lay-up in mid-air.
On the next trip down, she ended up with a clearout as the first quarter clock ticked away. No screen, no actions, just Fulwiley and a 30-foot heave.
She buried it, giving the Gamecocks a 28-9 lead and sending Colonial Life Arena into a frenzy.
Really, it was all over at that point. No way the Sooners were pulling back a 19-point deficit in this road environment with their turnover issues still alive as ever.
But South Carolina maintained its level of play from the first quarter. Balanced scoring, solid shooting, tight defense, transition speed and a talent advantage Oklahoma had no chance to keep up with. Fulwiley, Sania Feagin, Te-Hina Paopao and Joyce Edwards all broke double-digits in scoring before the end of the third quarter, eventually joined by Tessa Johnson with a pair of fourth quarter triples. South Carolina only had six turnovers compared to Oklahoma’s 22, and the second half turned into garbage time as all eyes officially shifted towards Thursday and the marquee game of the season to date.
If this wasn’t the perfect performance, it was eerily close to it. And it was the perfect time for it with what is on deck.
Undefeated LSU on Thursday night in Columbia, with College GameDay in town. Critical SEC regular season title implications and of course national interest.
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