STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Chloe Kitts had 17 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 2 South Carolina erase a double-digit deficit and beat Mississippi State 95-68 on Sunday.
Mississippi State had an 11-point lead midway through the second quarter before the game shifted. South Carolina outscored the Bulldogs 19-2 in the final 5 minutes of the period to get the lead and push it out to 42-34 at the half. The Gamecocks never looked back from there.
The defending national champions outscored the Bulldogs 26-11 in the third to earn the rout. The Gamecocks (13-1, 2-0 SEC) had 20 points from Tessa Johnson, who made four 3-pointers. Te-Hina PaoPao finished with 15 points, five assists and four rebounds and Joyce Edwards had 10 points.
Jerkaila Jordan had 24 points to lead the Bulldogs (13-3, 0-2). Destiney McPhaul had 14 points off the bench and Eniya Russell had 12 points.
Takeaways
Mississippi State: It was a solid first punch for the Bulldogs out of the gates, but the team played too careless to pull off the upset.
South Carolina: While it remains to be seen if the Gamecocks can win yet another SEC and national championship, they certainly looked the part of a team that can do it for the final 25 minutes.
Key Moment
After the Bulldogs led 34-28 with nearly 4 minutes remaining in the first half, South Carolina went on a 34-2 run at one point to put the game away. The Bulldogs’ turnovers and Gamecocks heating up from the field did the trick as State had 20 turnovers and South Carolina made 10-of-21 3-pointers.
Up Next:
Mississippi State hosts No. 9 Oklahoma on Thursday while the No. 2 Gamecocks will host Texas A&M.
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