As has been the case in every single South Carolina women’s basketball game so far this season, at least one of Ashlyn Watkins and MiLaysia Fulwiley stepped onto the court first off Dawn Staley’s bench.
It was actually both on Monday against Kentucky, checking in together as the first subs with 4:19 to go in the first quarter.
It only took minutes to shake Colonial Life Arena.
Watkins dunked, Fulwiley splashed two quick 3-pointers and No. 1 South Carolina never looked back in a 98-36 jaunt over Kentucky.
South Carolina (16-0, 4-0 SEC) avoided the landmine on a weekend where the other three teams undefeated in SEC play — LSU, Tennessee and Vanderbilt — all lost games they were expected to win. The Gamecocks are alone atop the conference standings a quarter of the way through league play and have won 35 straight SEC regular season games now dating back to the 2021-22 season.
A fairly tame opening quarter gave way to crowd-shaking vibes late when Watkins immediately woke up everyone in the building. Backcourt hunting as a big, she swiped the ball loose off Kentucky (8-10, 1-3 SEC) guard Amiya Jenkins. She corralled the loose ball, realized she had nobody in front of her and slammed home a dunk in transition.
Two points on the scoreboard, but it may as well have been a two-fisted knockout punch on any chance Kentucky had of springing an upset.
Those were South Carolina’s last points of the first quarter, but they opened the second with 14 consecutive points to grow a four-point lead into an 18-point blowout. Among many highlights in the run, Fulwiley completed a four-point play when she swished a 3-pointer in from the left wing while getting knocked down and cleaned up the ensuing free throw. She scored 10 points in her initial stint and 14 overall.
Tessa Johnson, maybe the unsung member of the freshman class who has steadily seen her minutes rise over the last month, popped up with a trio of 3-pointers in the second quarter to help extend the advantage. Johnson’s 11 points were her most since she scored 16 on Dec. 6 against Morgan State, and she did it even in spite of a momentary injury scare where she spent most of the third quarter on the exercise bike in the tunnel trying to shake off a knock.
She was fine, and so were the Gamecocks. Kamilla Cardoso pulled in another double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds — and five blocks — and a red hot third quarter stretch of 10 consecutive made field goals turned the game into a laugher well before the final period., Te-Hina Paopao, Ashlyn Watkins and Raven Johnson all joined the ranks of double-digit scorers with 14, 11 and 10 respectively.
South Carolina will head into its SEC bye this midweek before traveling to Texas A&M on Sunday, its last game before the Jan. 25 showdown at LSU.
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