| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VAN | 15 | 8 | 25 | 15 | 63 |
| SC | 24 | 24 | 13 | 23 | 84 |
No. 5 South Carolina women beat Vanderbilt 84-63 in SEC Tournament quarterfinals
Highlight: South Carolina holds off Vanderbilt's comeback attempt
The top-seed Gamecocks go on a 16-0 run to finish the fourth quarter to finish off the 8-seed Commodores, 84-63.
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- — Chloe Kitts had 25 points and 10 rebounds and No. 5 South Carolina held off a furious second-half rally from Vanderbilt to win 84-63 on Friday in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 15 off the bench and Sania Feagin added 13 points for South Carolina (28-3), which will face No. 10 Oklahoma, a 69-65 winner over 12th-ranked Kentucky, in Saturday's semifinals.
Coach Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks, the top seed, appeared plenty motivated to win a third straight SEC Tournament title. They came out of the gates strong, shooting a blistering 67% from the field in the first half to build a 48-23 lead at the break.
But the Commodores, behind stars Mikayla Blakes and Khamil Pierre, battled back to cut the lead to five with 4:22 left. The Gamecocks regrouped and outscored the Commodores 16-0 the rest of the way.
Vanderbilt (22-10), which knocked off 18th-ranked Tennessee 84-76 on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals, got 20 points from Blakes and 17 from Pierre.
Vanderbilt: Was outscored 58-28 in the paint and outrebounded 42-28.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks' depth proved to be too much for Vanderbilt, with their bench outscoring the Commodores' reserves 33-4.
Fulwiley provided a huge momentum swing at the end of the first quarter when she came up with a defensive rebound and beat two defenders down the floor for a fast-break layup with 16 seconds left, then came up with a steal and pulled up from beyond the 3-point arc to beat the buzzer. That gave the Gamecocks a 24-15 lead and ignited a 17-2 run.
South Carolina finished the game on a 16-0 run.
Vanderbilt will await its seed in the NCAA Tournament.
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Game Information
- Referees:
- Eric Koch
- Billy Smith
- Tiffany Bird
2024-25 Southeastern Conference Standings
| Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | 15-1 | - | 35-4 |
| Texas | 15-1 | - | 35-4 |
| LSU | 12-4 | 3 | 31-6 |
| Oklahoma | 11-5 | 4 | 27-8 |
| Kentucky | 11-5 | 4 | 23-8 |
| Alabama | 10-6 | 5 | 24-9 |
| Ole Miss | 10-6 | 5 | 22-11 |
| Tennessee | 8-8 | 7 | 24-10 |
| Vanderbilt | 8-8 | 7 | 22-11 |
| Mississippi State | 7-9 | 8 | 22-12 |
| Florida | 5-11 | 10 | 19-18 |
| Georgia | 4-12 | 11 | 13-19 |
| Missouri | 3-13 | 12 | 14-18 |
| Auburn | 3-13 | 12 | 12-18 |
| Texas A&M | 3-13 | 12 | 10-19 |
| Arkansas | 3-13 | 12 | 10-22 |
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