COLUMBIA — South Carolina women’s basketball bounced back from its first SEC loss with a big 103-74 win over No. 4 Vanderbilt on Jan. 25 in Colonial Life Arena.
The No. 2 Gamecocks (20-2, 6-1 SEC) were led by Ta’Niya Latson and Tessa Johnson, who combined for 41 points and five 3-pointers. Madina Okot didn’t start and instead Agot Makeer did, but the 6-6 center scored 17 points off the bench.
South Carolina started the game on an 11-2 run and led by as many as 21 in the first half before the Commodores (20-1, 6-1) cut the deficit to 11 with buzzer-beater 3-pointer heading into halftime. The Gamecocks then outscored Vanderbilt 27-12 in the third quarter to make it 82-56 after three.
The Commodores are no longer one of two undefeated teams in Division I women’s basketball. Mikayla Blakes, who is No. 2 in the country at 24.8 points per game, finished with 23 points in the loss, scoring 14 in the second quarter.
Coach Dawn Staley moves to 4-2 against top 25 opponents this season with a road game at unranked Auburn on Jan. 29 next.
Check back here for updates.
After a bad first minute to the first quarter, the Gamecocks outscored Vandy 27 to 12 in the third quarter, including a 14-3 run in the span of four minutes.
A quick 6-0 run for Vanderbilt makes it an 11-point game heading into the break. Both teams shooting 63% or more from the floor.
Tessa Johnson leads all Gamecocks with 14 points, Ta’Niya Latson has 12 with Madina Okot behind 11.
Ta’Niya Latson’s 10 points lead the Gamecocks after one. Tessa Johnson and Madina Okot both had seven in the first quarter.
Raven Johnson forced to sit out after picking up two early fouls. South Carolina forced five turnovers and had 20 points in the paint.
Dawn Staley is going with a guard heavy starting lineup, replacing 6-6 center Madina Okot with 6-1 guard Agot Makeer.
While it’s unclear the exact season, Okot is coming off a tough game and Vanderbilt is a guard heavy offense.
The forecast projects a snow and ice storm for various parts of the south over the weekend, which caused multiple games to shift around on Saturday, Jan. 24.
AccuWeather‘s forecast projects “Icy mix in the morning; cloudy and cold with a little rain in the afternoon; ice can cause dangerous travel, tree damage and power outages,” with 38 degree weather on game day.
The winter storm warning for the area is from 7 a.m. ET on Saturday to 1 p.m. ET on Monday.
Alicia Tournebize is 6-foot-7 and 18-years-old.
The last time a Dawn Staley team at South Carolina lost two-straight was the 2018-19 season when the Gamecocks lost two in a tournament over Thanksgiving.
The same year, the Gamecocks lost their last SEC regular season game and first SEC tournament game but the last time they lost two straight regular season SEC games was in 2013.
With all players healthy, Staley’s starting lineup is:
South Carolina starting forward Chloe Kitts tore her ACL and will miss the entire 2025-26 season. Her father, Jason, confirmed via social media on Oct. 14 that she had surgery and is on the road to recovery.
Kitts still travels with the team.
Ashlyn Watkins tore her ACL in January 2025, and was set to return this season, but announced in July she is taking a year off of both school and basketball.
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Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at LKesin@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky@bylulukesin.bsky.social
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