South Carolina overpowers Mississippi State after slow start. 3 observations from win

No. 2 South Carolina overcame a shaky start to power past Mississippi State, 95-68, on the road Sunday.

Mississippi State (13-3, 0-2 SEC) came out swinging, shooting a sizzling 53% in the first quarter. A 12-2 run had the Bulldogs energized early, giving them a commanding 22-13 lead after the first frame.

But the Gamecocks didn’t blink. They answered with a game-changing 16-0 run to close the first half, turning a nine-point deficit into a 42-34 lead by halftime. Mississippi State couldn’t buy a bucket in the final four minutes of the half, and the Gamecocks seized the momentum.

“We’re going to get everybody’s best effort in the beginning,” USC head coach Dawn Staley said. “Sometimes, the game has to settle down. … Great crowd, great team — they got off to a great start. The game settled in, and we utilized our depth and our experience being in games like this to play better basketball.”

The third quarter didn’t offer much relief for the Bulldogs. South Carolina opened with another ferocious 17-0 burst, stretching the lead to 23 and putting the game on ice.

Sophomore Tessa Johnson led the charge for USC with a career-high 22 points, while junior Chloe Kitts chipped in with a double-double of 17 points and 10 boards. Senior Te-Hina Paopao had 15 points, five assists and four rebounds.

“Chloe was due (for a good game), Tessa was due as well,” Staley said. “It’s just good to see players that you know can play and make an impact on the game. … Truly happy for them. Chloe’s been trying. Chloe works her butt off, and sometimes she doesn’t reap the benefits of her hard work through stats. She got them today.”

The Gamecocks played the second half without forward Ashlyn Watkins, who left the game in the second quarter with an apparent leg injury. Maddy McDaniel and Sakima Walker also missed the game with injuries.

After the game, Staley didn’t have an update on Watkins’ status but said she didn’t have to leave the arena to go to the hospital. She received treatment in the locker room.

Staley also said Walker is “doing a little more in practice,” and they’ll know more about McDaniel’s status in practices through the week.

The Gamecocks (14-1, 2-0 SEC) head back to Columbia for their SEC home opener against Texas A&M on Thursday.

Here are three observations from No. 2 USC’s victory:

“Three-ssa” Johnson takeover

South Carolina got off to a slow start offensively, shooting just 37.5% from the field in the opening quarter. And just when South Carolina’s offense needed a spark, Johnson lit the fuse. Just like it’s been a few times over the past couple seasons.

“Tessa got ready and loaded to shoot the ball when she was open,” Staley said. “Her focus goes to another level when we’re down.”

Johnson got the Gamecock offense going with 14 points in the second quarter, surpassing her previous career high in a SEC game (13) before halftime.

“I didn’t like how I was shooting the past couple games, so I kept getting in the gym and working on my shot,” Johnson said in a postgame interview with SEC Network.

Johnson’s sharpshooting was contagious. Paopao joined the fun, with the two trading a pair of triples in a three-minute stretch. The Gamecocks finished with 10 3-pointers.

“We work really well with each other,” Paopao said. “... Once she got going, I got going, and it was good to play off each other. 5 really got us going.”

Bulldogs come out barking

After missing its first three shots, Mississippi State came out howling, finding an early offensive rhythm behind Jerkaila Jordan, who scored 12 of her team-high 24 points in the first quarter. That fueled an early 16-7 lead for MSU.

In the first quarter, South Carolina struggled to string together stops, which has been its bread and butter, even when the offense is struggling. The Gamecocks’ usually sturdy defense looked uncharacteristically leaky early, with Jordan and the Bulldog guards slicing through the lane at will.

“Us guards were getting beat off the dribble,” Paopao said. “We weren’t guarding the 3-point line like we should, and we just kept getting blown by and then our post (players) got on us. We were like, ‘We’ve got to lock in and guard better.’ And that’s what happened.”

Defense clamps down

If the first quarter was a misstep, the rest of the game was a master class in defensive dominance.

As Paopao outlined, South Carolina’s defense “locked in” during the second and third quarters, forcing Mississippi State into eight straight misses over a nine-minute stretch. The Bulldogs, who average 18 assists per game, were held to just eight for the afternoon as USC disrupted passing lanes and smothered ball handlers.

And the defense didn’t just stop the Bulldogs — it fueled the Gamecocks’ offense. South Carolina forced 19 turnovers through three quarters, flipping those mistakes into 20 points and 13 fast-break points. Raven Johnson tied her career high with five steals.

Next four games

• Thursday: vs Texas A&M, 5 p.m. (ESPN2)

• Jan. 12: vs No. 5 Texas, 1 p.m. (ESPN)

• Jan. 16: at No. 19 Alabama, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

• Jan. 19: vs No. 9 Oklahoma, 3 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2)