South Carolina guard Zia Cooke (1) shoots against Florida during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Columbia, S.C., Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
AP
An SEC regular-season title is quickly approaching for the Gamecocks.
South Carolina (26-0, 13-0 SEC) dominated Florida on Thursday, winning 87-56 at Colonial Life Arena. The Gators (14-12, 3-10 SEC) dropped their fourth straight game. The Gamecocks have won two of the last three regular season SEC titles.
USC took control from the start, getting out to a 20-8 lead in the first quarter. The team led by 30 points at halftime.
The Gamecocks scored more points in the paint (28) in the first half than Florida had at that point of the game (21).
South Carolina’s second unit got plenty of playing time in the second half with the big lead, as the team ended with 36 bench points.
The win secures USC’s first-place ranking in the SEC standings ahead of LSU and Tennessee.
South Carolina plays its next game on the road, facing Ole Miss on Sunday at 4 p.m.
TERRIFIC 3-POINT SHOOTING
South Carolina shot 8-17 from 3-point range in the game. Zia Cooke and Brea Beal made all eight of those shots. Both players paced all scorers at the half with 13 points, and they led the way for the Gamecocks before coming out in the third quarter.
Cooke finished the game with 22 points and five made 3-pointers, the latter of which ties a career-high mark.
Beal made three shots from long range, her second game this season with that many made 3-pointers. She scored a season-high 14 points and also chipped in seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Those eight made 3-pointers were a season-high for USC.
COMFORTABLE AT HOME
The win in Colonial Life Arena gives South Carolina a 14-0 home record on the year. USC hasn’t lost a home game since Dec. 3, 2020.
USC entered Thursday’s game averaging 87.2 points as the hosting team this season.
The longest home winning streak in program history is 45 games, spanning from 2013 to 2016. USC has gone undefeated at home four times in a season.
South Carolina is now one win away from an undefeated regular season at home, and the two NCAA tournament games it will likely host would give the Gamecocks a chance at 16 wins at Colonial Life Arena.
TEDDY BEAR TOSS
Gamecock fans left their imprint on the court as well.
During halftime, the team did its yearly teddy bear toss. Stuffed animals of varying colors and sizes dropped down from all over the stadium.
The mission of the toss is for the toys to be donated to local organizations. Teams from different parts of the country have done their own versions of the toss in the last few years.
The first time the USC women’s basketball team held a teddy bear toss was 2019.
NEXT SOUTH CAROLINA WBB GAMES
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Sunday: at Ole Miss, 4 p.m. (SEC Network)
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Feb. 23: at Tennessee, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
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Feb. 26: home vs. Georgia, noon (ESPN2)
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TBD: SEC tournament
Jeremiah Holloway covers South Carolina women’s basketball and football for The State. A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, he is from Greensboro, N.C. and an avid basketball fan. Holloway joined The State in August 2022.