COLUMBIA — Beating the No. 13 team in the country by 41 points is something worth celebrating no matter what.
In the 101-60 victory over No. 13 Oklahoma, a lot went right for No. 2 South Carolina women’s basketball.
The Gamecocks (18-1, 6-0 SEC) had only six turnovers to their 26 assists, had five players in double figures, scored 53 bench points and hit 10 3-pointers.
So coach Dawn Staley was asked to identify the most satisfying part of a win like Sunday’s.
“Our kids played hard,” Staley said. “Every possession they played hard, they played the way we envision. A lot of coaches have a vision of how they want their teams to play — that was it. Yes, we gave up 60 points; yes, we turned the ball over; yes, Raegan Beers scored 23 points. But everything in between was like really the heart of the champion on both sides of the basketball.”
Beers, Oklahoma’s star center had a slow start, scoring just eight points in the first half but found a groove and got better passes from her teammates in the second half to finish with 20 plus points.
The Sooners (15-4, 3-3) had 22 turnovers, and South Carolina scored 32 points off the mistakes. The Gamecocks collected 11 steals, six blocks and won the rebound battle 44-42.
Sunday marked the 12th straight game in which South Carolina won by double digits, which is a program record. The Gamecocks are coming off a 76-58 win vs. No. 19 Alabama on Thursday but have no time to rest.
Undefeated LSU, the No. 4 team in the country comes to Colonial Life Arena on Thursday (8 p.m., ESPN). Thursday will mark the fourth consecutive game against a ranked opponent for Staley’s squad, which had No. 6 Texas before Alabama.
With a game like LSU on the horizon, scoring will play a huge factor. Staley was asked what it means having a bevy of scorers rather than one or two players who are consistently scoring above 20 points per game.
“It means we sacrifice having a SEC Player of the Week, having a National Player of the Year, possibly some All-Americans, but this team is locked in on the ultimate goal of just winning and doing it for each other,” Staley said. “We give that up but for the greater good of winning and doing things we need to do to get better as a team. Doing things that promote great basketball — we want to be a great product of our game. … Is it cool to have a go-to player? Absolutely, but when you can do it without having one, you’re really moving the needle.”
MORE: South Carolina women’s basketball vs Oklahoma final score: Gamecocks reach 100 points
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dawn Staley reveals satisfying part of South Carolina’s win vs Oklahoma
