In its last game before Christmas, South Carolina gave Dawn Staley an early present — an easy win.
With a powerful third quarter, the Gamecocks cruised by Staley’s former team, Temple, for an 88-60 win.
In the first five minutes of the game, there were five lead changes as South Carolina (7-4) connected on its first three 3-point attempts, but Temple collected eight second-chance points off superior rebounding, at one point owning a 7-1 edge on the boards.
In the latter half of the quarter, however, the Gamecocks went on a 12-3 to take a double-digit lead, fueled by better rebounding and a breakneck pace up and down the floor, as Temple went cold from the field.