Joyce Edwards had 17 points and 10 rebounds and No. 2 South Carolina beat Jazzy Davidson and eighth-ranked Southern California 69-52 on Saturday night in a matchup billed as The Real SC at Crypto.com Arena.
Raven Johnson and Tessa Johnson scored 14 points each for the Gamecocks (4-0), who lost to UConn in the national title game last season.
Kennedy Smith scored 12 points and Kara Dunn added 10 to the lead the Trojans (2-1), whose star player watched from the end of the bench. JuJu Watkins isn’t playing this season while rehabbing from a torn ACL sustained in the NCAA Tournament in March.
Davidson, a highly touted freshman, had eight points on 4 of 11 shooting and four turnovers. She was coming off a 21-point performance in a 69-68 win over then-No. 9 North Carolina State.
Leading by two at halftime, the Gamecocks took control in the third. They outscored the Trojans 23-15, including 10 by Edwards and two 3-pointers by Tessa Johnson, for a 55-45 lead going into the fourth. USC missed five of its first seven shots and had three turnovers.
The Trojans were held to seven points in the fourth and finished 1 of 14 from 3-point range. They got outrebounded 56-32. Madina Okot had a season-high 15 rebounds for the Gamecocks.
Neither team shot well in first half when the Gamecocks led by 10 after USC stumbled out of the gate. Davidson fell and turned the ball over before picking up two quick fouls and sitting down.
The Trojans regrouped in the second quarter, using a 12-4 run to grab their first lead of the game before Malia Samuels hit a jumper at the halftime buzzer that left them trailing 32-30.
South Carolina improved to 4-0 against the Trojans, winning for the third time under coach Dawn Staley. The teams first met in 1980.
The Real SC matchup resumes with a second game set for next November in South Carolina.
Up next
South Carolina hosts Winthrop on Wednesday.
USC hosts Portland on Tuesday.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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