South Carolina Downs No. 1 Texas to win the SEC Championship

Greenville, SC-Chloe Kitts finished with 15 points and nine rebounds and was named the tournament’s MVP, Tessa Johnson added 14 points, and No. 5 South Carolina knocked by No. 1 Texas 64-45 on Sunday to win its third equal southeastern conference tournament championship and Ninthit in the last 11 years under Coach Dawn stale.

Sania Feagin and Joyce Edwards each had 11 points for Gamecocks, who, with boldness, made their claim for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

South Carolina (30-3) never pulled and blasted the game open with a 19-2 race to start the second quarter to build a 33-16 lead during the break behind a stifling defense. The leading ballooned to 21 early in the fourth quarter, and Gamecocks were never threatened again.

Gamecocks held All-American Madison Booker for 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting for Snap Texas ’15 game win streak. Taylor Jones and Rori Harmon led Longhorns (31-3) with 14 points each.

Staley improved to 5-0 against coach Vic Schaefer in the SEC title games, though the previous four came when Schaefer Coachede in Mississippi State.

Takeaways

Texas: The ball turned over 11 times in the first half and shot 30% to the game.

South Carolina: Gamecocks improved to 18-1 in SEC-Tournament games in Greenville, which is only a 90-minute drive from their home arena. The setting served essentially as a home game for Gamecocks that has one of the strongest fan bases in women’s basketball.

Keying moment

Feagin’s Lob Pass inside Kitts led to a duck-1 to start the second quarter and ignited a 15-0 race.

Key State

South Carolina Outscored her three SEC Tournament opponents 67-27 in the second quarter.

Up next

Both teams are expected to be # 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.