The South Carolina women's basketball team went into its matchup against No. 5 Vanderbilt with a chip on its shoulder after a heartbreaking defeat. But on Sunday, the No. 2 Gamecocks were the ones playing heartbreaker as they brought the Commodores' undefeated season to an halt with a 103-74 statement victory.
The win ended Vanderbilt's school-record 20-game win streak and gave South Carolina its largest win versus a top-five opponent since 1976-77, helping right the ship after a 94-82 overtime loss at No. 16 Oklahoma. Junior guard Tessa Johnson was one of the Gamecocks' leading scorers with 20 points in 28 minutes, and she gave some insight into where her and her team's minds were coming into the contest.
“We don't like to lose, but it was more [about] how we lost. We were not ourselves at Oklahoma. We got back on our game today,” Johnson said.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley also commented on her team's bounce-back from the loss against the Sooners, giving the players credit for their performance.
“I'm really impressed that we played connected basketball on both ends,” Staley said. “I'm happy we responded to our loss. [Our players] know what the standard is, and we've got to keep them in a place where they play to that standard every night.”
Staley made sure to single out the Gamecocks' highest scorer on Sunday. Star transfer Ta'Niya Latson notably had the best rebound from the Sooners matchup, going from six points on 1-of-10 shooting on Thursday to 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 50% from beyond the arc.
“She's a competitor,” Staley said. “She only wants to see herself play and perform at the highest level. When she's anything but that, she makes adjustments. Her shots were falling today, she got to the rim, and she defended. You could see her take her intensity and ability to lock into another level.”
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph told the media how shocked she was to see South Carolina get the better of her previously unbeaten squad, which gave up 16 turnovers in the first half alone.
“I was surprised at how bad our defense was,” Ralph said. “We looked like we were a little bit stunned. I had hoped that we were more prepared and we would do things a little bit differently, but we didn't. We didn't operate the way I know my team can operate. It doesn't get any easier. We play ranked team after ranked team after ranked team. This is the SEC.”
Vanderbilt does still have players like SEC leading scorer Mikayla Blakes, who finished with 23 points, seven boards, five assists, and three steals, to anchor the team and a promising season still ahead, as Ralph went on to acknowledge.
“Credit to South Carolina because they played really well, maybe the best they've played all season,” Ralph said. “There just wasn't an answer today. For us, there's a lot we can take from it, but it also doesn't negate the fact that we've been really good up to this point.”
South Carolina will continue its conference competition against Auburn on Thursday, while Vanderbilt heads to No. 17 Ole Miss.
