The South Carolina women’s basketball team defeated Vanderbilt 84-63 in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament after a late 16-0 run in the fourth quarter at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, on Friday afternoon.
"I was happy that we could get a unit in there that that could just play well together on both sides of the basketball," head coach Dawn Staley said. "And it took us a little bit of time to figure out what unit that would be."
Both South Carolina and Vanderbilt would trade baskets in the early stages of the game, however after the Commodores took a 13-11 lead, freshman guard Mikayla Blakes picked up her second foul of the game, forcing head coach Shea Ralph to sub out the SEC Freshman of the Year.
From the time when Blakes was subbed out with three minutes to go in the first quarter, the Gamecocks would outscore Vanderbilt 13-2 in the quarter. Sophomore guard MiLaysia Fulwiley ended the opening frame with a fast break layup then a buzzer beating three-pointer
Even with Blakes subbing back into the game to start the second quarter, South Carolina continued to dominate the game, ending the quarter with a 48-23 lead.
Senior forward Sania Feagin would lead the Gamecocks in points at the half with 10, while also grabbing seven rebounds.
Despite the halftime deficit, Vanderbilt would find its footing in the third quarter, putting up 25 points compared to just 13 from the Gamecocks to cut the lead to only 13 points entering the fourth quarter.
Vanderbilt’s hot shooting streak would continue into the fourth quarter as they would hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, bringing the Gamecocks lead to just 5 points with under five minutes to play.
Once the lead was cut to five, junior forward Chloe Kitts would hit big shot after big shot, scoring 7 points in a row to push the lead back into double figures. Kitts would end the game with 25 points, a new career high.
"To play with a player like Chloe is great," Fulwiley said. "It puts a lot less work on you. So when Chloe is doing good, it motivates all of us to want to do good. So I feel like when Chloe's playing like that, we're a real hard to beat and I'm proud of her."
The Gamecocks would close the game on a 16-0 run, that included Kitts’ solo scoring run, to move on to the semifinals on Saturday.
Dominant second quarter
South Carolina’s defense would dominate in the first half, especially in the second quarter when they held the Commodores to just 3-17 from the field, and 0-5 from behind the arc. This second quarter would allow the Gamecocks to take a 25 point lead into the locker room.
The second quarter was very reminiscent of the the game between the two teams earlier this season in Nashville, Tennessee, where the Gamecocks limited the Commodores to just 17-56 from the field and 2-12 from behind the arc while also forcing 17 turnovers.
All around scoring effort
Throughout the 2024-25 season, the Gamecocks have had five players that average more than 8 points per game. That would be no different today with five Gamecocks scoring 8 or more.
After Kitts's, the next highest scorers would be Fulwiley, who had 15 points and Feagin who ended the game with 13 points. Freshman forward Joyce Edwards also finished the game with 12 points in her first SEC tournament game.
The Gamecocks got great production from its bench again, with 33 of its 84 points coming off the bench. Following the game, Fulwiley had her thoughts as to what makes South Carolina's bench so good.
"I think here we all just have the same mindset and that's winning,” Fulwiley said. "So whether you're doing it from coming off the bench or starting a game, we all just want to win."
Responding to adversity
For much of the second half, Vanderbilt looked like it was destined to come back in this game, cutting the lead to just 13 points by the start of the fourth quarter.
With 4:22 left in the game, Blakes would hit a three pointer to bring the lead to 5. After this basket, the South Carolina offense would go on a 16-0 scoring run to end the game.
"I mean, we all want to meet the moment and I think we did it,” Fulwiley said. "I felt we came together and that was very important for us. And, yeah, I love my team and we love each other."
What’s next?
The Gamecocks will be back in action in the semifinals on Saturday against Oklahoma. The game will tip off at 4:30 p.m. and be broadcasted on ESPN 2.