FINAL: Gamecocks WBB Pulls Away in 4th Quarter In 66-55 Win Over Tennessee

South Carolina's women's basketball team pulled away in the 4th quarter to win against Tennessee and secure their record-tying 42nd straight SEC victory.

Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks were announced as the number one overall seed in the recent Top 16 reveal for women's college basketball and looked to show just why tonight against the Tennessee Volunteers. Although they had a rough start to the game, South Carolina found a way in the fourth quarter and now has Coach Staley sits just two wins away from joining the 600 win club.

The game started with five quick and early turnovers, allowing the Vols to go on a run, and while Dawn sent a new lineup coming out of the frist media timeout, leading to a 7-0 to end the quarter, the struggles continued in the second quarter. The turnover bug hurt the Gamecocks in the final ten minutes before the break, as they scored only 10 points on 3 of 15 shooting. Easy layups and open shots weren't falling, which combined with 12 offensive rebounds being given up led to Tennessee having 42 shot attempts in the first half. 

Despite arguably one of the worst halves and quarters for South Carolina this season, the Gamecocks saw themselves only down three points going into halftime.

Dawn Staley disputes a call against the UConn Huskies (02-11-24) / Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Coming out of halftime, offensively, South Carolina made it a point to go straight to Kamilla Cardoso and establish their post strength. The Gamecocks did extremely well protecting the ball, which limited extra opportunities for the Volunteers. However, Tennessee answered every run in the third quarter, leaving the game tied going into the fourth.

In the final period, Carolina began to pull away with the help of their elite defense, forcing the Vols to go nearly 8 minutes without a made field goal. Bree Hall would make a big-time three, which was only Carolina's second of the game to boost what became a 9-1 run. 

Ashlyn Watkins and Cardoso would help secure the win late with a combined 13-point effort in the 4th quarter which, combined with Tennessee's seven-point outing, put the game out of reach. The Gamecocks will head home Sunday afternoon to host the Georgia Bulldogs, looking for their 25th win of the season and coach Staley's 599th career win. 

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