No. 2 South Carolina WBB wins big against Texas A&M. Three quick observations

South Carolina breezed to a 90-49 win on Thursday night over Texas A&M. The victory moves the No. 2 Gamecocks to 15-1 on the year and improves their early tally in SEC play to 3-0.

South Carolina is now 13-4 all time against the Aggies and has won 13 of the last 14 matchups.

Dawn Staley’s squad dominated in nearly every facet of the game and led for all but 1:20 of the matchup.

The Gamecocks shot 50% as a team on the night while limiting Texas A&M to 28.4%, marking the fourth-worst shooting clip an opponent has had against South Carolina this season.

Six USC players scored in double-digits, including MiLaysia Fulwiley with 17 points.

Here are three observations from South Carolina’s 66th consecutive win at Colonial Life Arena.

USC functioning without Ashlyn Watkins

Thursday’s game was South Carolina’s first without junior forward Ashlyn Watkins, who is done for the year after tearing an ACL.

Despite the loss, Staley said throughout the week she was confident in players like Maryam Dauda, Adhel Tac and Sakima Walker’s abilities to step up and replace her in the post.

Dauda was the first of the three to check in during the first quarter. She played nine minutes in the game, up from her average of six, and tallied two points and one rebound. Tac got her first minutes just before the break and finished with five minutes of action.

Walker made her first appearance in a game since late November and logged eight minutes of play in addition to four points and one rebound.

Overall, Staley said she liked what she saw from the three bench players in the time they got on the court.

“I pprobably could have gotten (Walker) in the game a little bit sooner, because she’s just more experienced,” Staley said. “But she’s been out and Adhel has been working. She’s been working her butt off so I wanted to give her the nod, so I put her in in the first into the first quarter.

“I think Maryam is coming. There are spurts in which she she looks pretty good and then there’s spurts where she looks rusty. It’s just all about giving her some some valuable minutes, and tonight was a plus for us.”

Staley mainly relied on the trio of Chloe Kitts, Sania Feagin and Joyce Edwards to patrol the post — and they did just that. The trio combined for 42 points and 21 rebounds. That’s a philosophy Staley said the Gamecocks will probably abide by this season without Watkins.

“We’ll probably lean on the three that’s played the most minutes for us in Joyce and Feagin and Chloe,” Staley said. “Then we’ll bring everybody else along and spot them here and there. It is about production. If any one of the three — meaning Sakima, Adhel or Maryam — play well, I’m going to leave them out there. They’re going to play extended minutes. If they don’t, then I gotta pull them.”

As a team, South Carolina out-rebounded Texas A&M 46-39 in the game and scored 34 points in the paint.

Freshman phenom continues to thrive

Edwards has made an immediate impact since arriving at South Carolina, and Thursday night was no different. The former No. 3 recruit in the country posted a double-double against the Aggies with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Both stats were near career-highs.

This is the fifth time Edwards has led South Carolina in scoring during her rookie season. It’s the fourth time she’s achieved the feat in the last six games. Edwards said she doesn’t feel any personal pressure to step up in the box score with Watkins out.

“I feel like I just let the game come to me today,” Edwards said. “Offense was flowing. I thought my defense was pretty good. But, I don’t feel pressure when it comes to Ashlyn. And I feel like everybody’s stepping up, and you don’t try to fill in for her position. You just do what you do.”

Edwards was the first off the bench in the game and received a slight bump in minutes Thursday night. She was averaging 19 minutes of action and played 22 in the game.

“I think Joyce feels the absence of Ashlyn,” Staley said. “And although I didn’t say, ‘Give us more,’ she’s taken it upon herself to give more and to do more and to prepare herself for moments like these.

“She was relentless on the boards. She was engaged offensively and defensively. She’s halfway through her freshman year, so I think she’s really getting to know how to play, how to really play at this level and make a big impact.”

Fast start makes the difference

South Carolina got out to a dominant start on Thursday night.

The Gamecocks outscored the Aggies 25-10 in the first quarter, thanks in large part to a 21-4 run over the last five minutes of the period.

The early burst of scoring isn’t exactly the norm for a South Carolina squad that is averaging 18.4 points in the first quarter this season. South Carolina shot a blistering 62.5% from the field in the first quarter.

On the other side of the ball, South Carolina was able to hold the Aggies to a 27.8% shooting clip in the first quarter.

South Carolina’s early lead especially helped because its offense had a below-average second quarter. The Gamecocks scored an average of 21.8 points in the second quarter this year but had just 12 on Wednesday night. Luckily, the defense continued to play lights out and held the Aggies to just seven points in the second quarter — allowing for a 37-17 lead going int halftime.

Next four South Carolina games

• Sunday: vs. Texas, 1 p.m. (ESPN)

• Jan. 16: at Alabama, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

• Jan. 19: vs. Oklahoma, 3 p.m. (ESPN)

• Jan. 23: vs. LSU, 8 p.m. (ESPN)