Joyce Edwards and Raven Johnson both had double-doubles as the No. 2 South Carolina women’s basketball team defeated No. 8 USC, 69-52, on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Edwards had 17 points and 10 rebounds while Johnson added 14 points and 11 rebounds. Four of the Gamecocks five starters scored in double figures. Edwards lost a shoe late in the fourth quarter, but played on, almost making a layup while slipping around the court.
The game was even throughout the first half, as South Carolina went into the locker room with a 32-30 lead over the Trojans. The Gamecocks locked down on defense in the second half and outscored USC, 37-22, to win the top-10 matchup and improve to 4-1.
South Carolina held USC to 1-14 shooting from behind the 3-point arc. The Gamecocks also outrebounded USC, 56-32.
Kennedy Smith led the Trojans (2-1) with 12 points while Kara Dunn added 10.
‘We want these games to teach us where we need to be and where we need to get to,’ USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. ‘Credit South Carolina, they did a lot of things well … I saw things from our team I really liked. Not yet where we need to be but this game will help us get there.’