It was an SEC conference home game on Sunday for the South Carolina Gamecocks, and they delivered.

In front of a packed Colonial Life Arena, the Gamecocks put up a 103-74 win over No. 5 Vanderbilt, snapping the Commodores’ school-record 20-game winning streak.

South Carolina responded with their missing dominance. Senior transfer Ta’Niya Latson led with 21 points, while Tessa Johnson added 20. South Carolina jumped out to a 33-16 first-quarter lead and never looked back, forcing 19 turnovers against a team that only made 24 points in the paint.

“I’m really impressed that we played connected basketball on both ends,” head coach Dawn 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.”

Per ESPN, the win margin marked South Carolina’s largest win over an AP top-five opponent since 1976-77. It also made the Gamecocks the first team since 2023 to score 100 points against a top-five opponent. With the loss, Vanderbilt fell to 20-1 overall and 6-1 in SEC play, only leaving No. 1 UConn as the undefeated team in Division I women’s basketball.

Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph admitted the Commodores were caught off guard by their defensive struggles. She noted that the team looked rattled and failed to execute at the level she knows they’re capable of. She emphasized that there’s little room for error in a league as unforgiving as the SEC: " It doesn’t get any easier. This is the SEC.”

The Gamecocks know how brutal the SEC is

SC was recovering from an 82-94 overtime loss at No. 16 Oklahoma days ago. But Dawn Staley had already anticipated that Oklahoma would be a tough competitor. “We know this league, and we know the strength of it, we know the weaknesses of which there aren’t very many of them. So to go on a roll, to win, it’s a hard feat no matter who you’re playing. We don’t take Oklahoma lightly”, Staley told WACH FOX.

They came prepared for anything Vanderbilt would throw at them. Vanderbilt pulled their socks up before halftime and in Q3 closed in to 55-48. But South Carolina answered back immediately with a 15-2.

Latson, who struggled against Oklahoma with only 6 points in 32 minutes, looked fully locked in, shooting 8-of-15 from the field. “She’s a competitor,” Staley said. “When she’s anything but [her best], she makes adjustments.”

Auburn Tigers will be hosting the Gamecocks next. The two teams have met before, in February 2025, with South Carolina winning 83-66. Do you think another win is in store for Dawn Staley and her team?

Written by

Fatema Kapasi

Edited by

Joyita Das