South Carolina Shows Class Over Razorbacks in Dominating Fashion
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — No losses. No blemishes. Arkansas found out exactly why the South Carolina Gamecocks improved its record to 28-0. The Gamecocks crushed the Razorbacks, 98-61, behind 21 points from Ashlyn Watkins and five different players in double figures. Maryam Dauda's team-high 19 points was little consolation.
"[Dauda] She's good," South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. "She's good. She's good. A big that has great footwork. A big that can shoot the three. A big that can keep you off balance. She can put the ball on the floor. I was very impressed. I found myself just complimenting her with what she was able to do on the floor."
The Razorbacks got some good news before opening tip. An administrative technical foul was assessed to South Carolina for a late change to the starting lineup. This gave the Hogs two free throws before the game even started.
"The fact that they were willing to change their lineup to take the technical is a bit of an uh-oh," coach Mike Neighbors said. "It was nice to get off to a good start."
Arkansas hung in throughout the opening exchanges. Two early threes and a layup inside from Dauda gave Arkansas a 12-11 lead midway through the first quarter.
Arkansas Razorbacks post Maraym Dauda puts up a shot inside against No. 1 South Carolina on Thursday night at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark.
Gunnar Rathbun / Arkansas Communications
A three from the left wing in the waning seconds of the first quarter from Samara Spencer kept the Razorbacks within four after 10 minutes, 26-22.
South Carolina finally began to flex its muscle on both ends of the floor. South Carolina scored the first 14 points of the second quarter The Razorbacks were held scoreless for over seven minutes, Te-Hina Paopao's three ballooned the South Carolina's lead to 18.
Both teams made four three-pointers in the first half but Arkansas had 20 attempts compared to the Gamecocks' nine. The Razorbacks did go into the break having made three straight layups, but South Carolina led 47-31 after 20 minutes.
Arkansas made a good account of itself, but the second half was mostly a forgone conclusion. The Hogs never got back to within single digits as the Gamecocks got to the basket at will and outscored the Razorbacks by 56-22 in the paint. Arkansas and South Carolina both made eight threes, but Arkansas had 22 more attempts.
"If they [Arkansas] could get hot they could blow you out," Staley said. "If they don't make as many, you take the chance of actually getting blown out because you're giving a team more possessions."
The Gamecocks didn't take a 20-point lead until 3:27 left in the third quarter, which normally wouldn't be worth noting, but South Carolina was favored by 27 points before tipoff. Such is the standard set when coming off three straight Final Four Appearances and nine straight Sweet 16s.
The Razorbacks finish the SEC regular season slate 3 p.m. Sunday against Ole Miss. The game be broadcast on SEC Network and fuboTV.
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