South Carolina's freshmen come up big against Kentucky

Thursday night was another new experience for No. 4 South Carolina's freshmen as they faced their first SEC rival.

The group rose to the occasion and showed why they were the number one recruiting class in the nation as the Gamecocks beat the Wildcats 99-72.

Freshmen Brea Beal and Zia Cooke led the Gamecocks (13-1, 1-0) with 15 points apiece while fellow first-year players Aliyah Boston and Laeticia Amihere had 14 points each.

Kentucky's All-American candidate Rhyne Howard finished with 28 points, but the Gamecocks were able to contain the rest of the team.

As well as the freshmen played in their most recent test, USC head coach Dawn Staley said they still have a long road ahead of them.

"There's a rematch. In Lexington," she said. "We've got to be aware of that."

The Gamecocks opened a 12-point lead in the first quarter and stretched it to 21 by halftime. Constantly carving through Kentucky's defense, South Carolina had nine players score by halftime, and the Gamecocks' defense forced 11 turnovers.

bSouth Carolina also forced Howard to commit six turnovers. Kentucky managed to stay close early thanks to its offensive rebounding but became flustered by the Gamecocks' pace and defense.

"We got rattled early against a real tough physical defense. Just a good team, with really good athletes," Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell said. "We were just kind of back on our heels all night long and had a hard time finding rhythm."

The Gamecocks had a phenomenal night offensively, shooting 61% from the field and outscoring Kentucky 60-24 in points in the paint.

South Carolina also finished with six players in double figures.

Chasity Patterson added 15 points for the Wildcats.

The Gamecocks hit the road this Sunday to take on Alabama.