No. 5 South Carolina routs No. 1 Texas for 9th SEC title in 11 years

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — 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 off No. 1 Texas 64-45 on Sunday to win its third straight Southeastern Conference Tournament championship and ninth title in the last 11 years under coach Dawn Staley.

Sania Feagin and Joyce Edwards each had 11 points for the Gamecocks, who boldly staked their claim to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

South Carolina (30-3) never trailed and blew the game open with a 19-2 run to start the second quarter to build a 33-16 lead at the break behind a stifling defense. The lead ballooned to 21 early in the fourth quarter and the Gamecocks were never threatened again.

The Gamecocks held All-American Madison Booker to 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting to 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, although the previous four came when Schaefer coached at Mississippi State.

Takeaways

Texas: Turned the ball over 11 times in the first half and shot 30% for the game.

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

Key moment

Feagin’s lob pass inside to Kitts led to an and-1 to start the second quarter, igniting a 15-0 run.

Key stat

South Carolina outscored its three SEC Tournament opponents 67-27 in the second quarter.

Up next

Both teams are expected to be No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.

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