South Carolina Dominates Southern in NCAA Tournament Opener

South Carolina, the top-seeded team in the women's NCAA Tournament, opened their title defense with an absolute thrashing of Southern on Saturday, winning by a final score of 103-34.

Junior forward Joyce Edwards led the way for the Gamecocks, pouring in a game-high 27 points to go along with 8 rebounds. South Carolina came out of the gates on fire, jumping out to a 15-0 lead and never looking back against the 16th-seeded Jaguars.

The Gamecocks' suffocating defense held Southern to just 2 points in the entire third quarter, completely taking the Jaguars out of the game. Head coach Dawn Staley was able to empty her bench in the fourth quarter as South Carolina cruised to the 69-point victory in front of their home crowd.

With the win, the Gamecocks extended their home NCAA Tournament win streak to 17 games dating back to 2018. They'll look to keep that streak alive as they advance to face the winner of Miami (FL) and South Dakota State in the second round.

For Southern, the loss ends their season after capturing the SWAC championship and earning an automatic bid to the Big Dance. Despite the lopsided defeat, the Jaguars can hold their heads high after making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019.

South Carolina, the prohibitive favorite to win it all, sent a clear message to the rest of the field with their dominant opening-round performance. Joyce Edwards and the Gamecocks will look to continue their tournament run as they pursue a second national championship in program history.