By GARY B. GRAVES AP Sports Writer
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — South Carolina locked up its latest league title with the kind of performance Dawn Staley wants to see even in practice. Bree Hall scored 18 points, MiLaysia Fulwiley added 17 off the bench and top-ranked South Carolina beat Kentucky 103-55 on Sunday to clinch its third consecutive outright Southeastern Conference regular-season championship and eighth in 11 years.
Staley struggles to achieve Sunday’s effort in workouts, which made the game-day product all the more satisfying.
“We have performances like this that shows we’re a really good basketball team and we show up on game day,” she said. “But we can’t just rely on that. We’ve got to perform like that in practice.”
With 6-foot-7 star center Kamilla Cardoso sitting out a second consecutive game, the hot-shooting Gamecocks (27-0, 14-0) widened a 20-point halftime cushion to 74-43 after three quarters behind 12-of-16 shooting on the way to 64% accuracy overall. Te-Hina Paopao (11 points) made all three 3-point attempts among four makes overall in the quarter after missing her only shot before halftime.
Sania Feagin (16 points) took charge with 10 in the fourth to maintain South Carolina’s roll as it hit 23 of 31 after halftime (74%) and 38 of 59 overall to sweep Kentucky for its fourth straight series win and 10th of the past 11 meetings. The Gamecocks won the previous meeting 98-36 in Columbia.
“I feel like this was a better performance by us overall as a team,” said Hall, who was 8 of 10 from the field. “We really played together and shared the ball really well and I think we did a good job shooting as well.”
The blowout came three days after they routed Alabama 72-44 on Thursday to clinch a share of the SEC title and give Staley her 600th career victory.
And every player had at least four points as South Carolina owned nearly every stat in the process at Rupp Arena, home of the No. 17 Kentucky men’s basketball team.
The Gamecocks were 8 of 12 from long range, dominated the paint 52-24 and outscored Kentucky’s bench 42-25. They scored 32 points off 19 Wildcats turnovers.
Fulwiley did her damage from the free throw line by making all 12 attempts. Ashlyn Watkins had 13 points and Chloe Kitts finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Gamecocks, whose balance and depth rang up their sixth 100-point outing this season and first in SEC play.
“The closer we get towards towards the tournament, the more we feel like we’re going to have to prove ourselves,” Watkins said.
Ajae Petty had 16 points and Saniah Tyler 15 for the Wildcats (11-17, 5-9), who shot just 34% after winning their past two games.
Kentucky’s loss spoiled pregame recognition of graduate student Emma King and seniors Nyah Leveretter and Eniya Russell. South Carolina’s Paopao, Cardoso and Sakima Walker were also mentioned.
BIG PICTURE
South Carolina made its first five shots and scored 12 of its first 15 points in the paint to quickly establish offensive flow. They also found each other often, registering 30 assists on 38 baskets. The Gamecocks were even sharper defensively, cutting off every angle to prevent Kentucky from getting any rhythm going other than the third quarter, when the Wildcats made 8 of 17 shots. They also converted 19 of 21 from the line.
Kentucky opened 4 of 17 from the field with seven turnovers to dig a big hole early. An improved second quarter made no difference and the Wildcats struggled from the foul line with just 7 of 18 makes.
“I didn’t like our defensive intensity,” coach Kyra Elzy said. “I thought from the very get-go we were flat, which made us press offensively. And, taking care of the ball. We’re going to have to do that better these upcoming games.”
UP NEXT
South Carolina visits Arkansas on Thursday night before hosting Tennessee in its regular season finale on Sunday.
Kentucky hosts Mississippi in its home finale on Thursday night.
