It wasn’t always pretty, but No. 3 South Carolina women’s basketball (5-0) pulled out a gritty 78-68 win over Rutgers on Friday in the opening round of the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Florida.
Senior forward A’ja Wilson recorded her fifth straight double-double of the season and broke her career scoring mark, chipping in 33 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks, three assists and a steal, while guards Lindsey Spann and Tyasha Harris added 17 and 9 points, respectively.
The story of the game early on, however, was turnovers — South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said before the contest that she was concerned about the swarming press defense of the Scarlet Knights, and Rutgers delivered, forcing the Gamecocks into a season-high 18 turnovers.