Joyce Edwards tallied 14 points and eight rebounds as No. 2 South Carolina gritted out a win over No. 4 Texas, 68-65, on Thursday night in Columbia, S.C.
Edwards shot 8 of 9 from the free throw line for the Gamecocks (18-1, 5-0 SEC). Tessa Johnson scored 13 points, Ta’Niya Latson added 12, Raven Johnson chipped in 10 points and six assists, and Madina Okot notched 10 points and five rebounds.
In the second consecutive loss for the Longhorns (18-2, 3-2 SEC), Madison Booker led the way with a game-high 24 points and Rori Harmon scored 16. Jordan Lee added 10 points for Texas before fouling out.
The Gamecocks tied the score at 55-all when Tessa Johnson swished a 3-pointer from the right wing with 6:42 left to play. A layup and free throw from Edwards gave South Carolina a 58-57 advantage with 4:12 remaining, and then Okot swished a wide-open 3-pointer to extend that advantage to multiple possessions. It was just the third shot made from behind the arc on the season from the 6-foot-6 senior center.
Raven Johnson’s nifty layup with 1:07 to play gave South Carolina a five-point lead, its largest of the evening, and the Gamecocks held the advantage from there to avoid what would have been their first loss at home to an SEC team since 2019.
Texas has lost back-to-back games for the first time since 2022.
The Longhorns used a late 8-0 first quarter run to take a seven-point advantage at 20-13 after 10 minutes. It began when Booker corralled the rebound off her own missed mid-range jumper and laid it back into the hoop and was capped off by Teya Sidberry sinking a bucket on a fast break. The Longhorn advantage was its largest of the game.
South Carolina closed the second quarter on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 32-all heading into intermission. The Gamecocks scored 14 of their 19 points in the second frame off 10 Texas turnovers.
A combination of stout defensive play and sloppy offensive execution led both teams to commit season-highs in turnovers — 22 for Texas and 20 for South Carolina.
The Gamecocks shot twice as many free throws as did the Longhorns (26-13) and converted 18, compared to 12 for the visitors.
For South Carolina, the game also featured the debut of 6-foot-7 Alicia Tournebize, who just arrived to the roster from France. She threw down a one-handed dunk with ease during warm-ups, but played just five minutes in the game.
–Field Level Media
