Gamecocks Show No Signs Of Dropoff In 100-71 Blowout Win Over No. 10 Notre Dame

South Carolina's women's basketball program is fielding a new team, but that didn't matter much in their dominant season-opening win over Notre Dame.

In the first couple of minutes of action, the lack of continuity and inexperience for this Gamecock squad showed, as Notre Dame dictated the pace early, forced lower percentage shots and used their savvy experience to score the game's first five points. After getting the first few minutes of jitters out of the way, however, South Carolina began to counter the Fighting Irish's opening act. Te-Hina Paopao and Raven Johnson got things started by hitting a couple of threes on the perimeter, which then opened up more driving lanes for Dawn Staley's guards. 

The issue for the Gamecocks in the first period was containing true freshman guard Hannah Hidalgo, who in the first ten minutes of the game, scored 13 points on 66.7 percent shooting from the floor, along with three makes at the charity stripe. After both teams were on pace for a 100-98 final score in the first quarter, both defenses would adjust to a significant degree, particularly on Carolina's end, as the Gamecocks persistence in fighting through and around screens began to pay off, and helped them stay in front of the Irish guards. 

This spurred a 24-6 run over the final nine minutes and seventeen seconds in the first half, which saw senior center Kamilla Cardoso rack up eight rebounds, while freshman sensation Milaysia Fulwiley lead all South Carolina players with seven points, including this ridiculous fast break basket.

MILAYSIA FULWILEY WITH THE FANCY FINISH 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/xGIzCjE6og

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 6, 2023

Coming out of the halftime break with a 48-33 advantage, the Gamecocks continued to pull away from Notre Dame, as Cardoso continued to use her height, positioning and nimbleness to attack the glass, and dominated whichever Notre Dame defender took up the task of guarding here. 

On the other end of the floor, Carolina's entire front court made life tough for the Fighting Irish, who tried to attack to the paint because of the airtight pressure the Gamecocks were bringing. That strategy didn't work out well, as Cardoso, Ashlyn Watkins, and Chloe Kitts combined for eight blocks in the period, which served as a catalyst behind a 26-point scoring outburst from Carolina.

Five Gamecocks finished the game in double figure, with Kamilla Cardoso leading the team in points with 20, all while recording a double-double, as she secured 15 boards as well. Dawn Staley and her team will take the floor again next Sunday, as they'll play their first home game of the season against the No. 14 Maryland Terrapins.

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