South Carolina gave Duke an early head start, but a dominant second-quarter surge — paired with huge performances from Madina Okot and Joyce Edwards — carried the Gamecocks to an 83-66 victory in their opening game of the Players Era Championship.
For the second time in three outings, both Edwards and Okot crossed the 20-point mark. Okot matched her career-best with 23 points, grabbed 13 rebounds for another double-double, and added four steals and two blocks to her stat line.
Edwards delivered a complete performance of her own, finishing with 22 points, six boards, six assists, three steals, and a series of timely second-half buckets that kept Duke from mounting any serious comeback.
Whether it was the travel, Duke’s early defensive pressure, or—just maybe—a little too much time near the slots (kidding!), South Carolina struggled out of the gate. The Gamecocks couldn’t establish their interior offense, and Duke—normally not a high-percentage shooting team—was knocking down nearly 50% of its shots.
That was enough for the Blue Devils to take a 15-7 advantage late in the first quarter, stirring memories of the rough Elite Eight matchup in Birmingham. Adding to that déjà vu: Chloe Kitts, the hero of that previous meeting, watched from the sideline in street clothes due to her torn ACL.
Eventually, South Carolina found its rhythm. The Gamecocks pushed the pace, trying to score before Duke could set up its half-court defense. The adjustment worked. They closed the first quarter on a 7-0 burst, capped by Okot sprinting past everyone for a transition layup.
That spurt steadied South Carolina — but the next one completely flipped the game.
Over the final 3:24 of the second quarter, the Gamecocks unleashed an 11-0 run, part of a massive 17-0 explosion that extended into halftime. Duke missed all five shots to close the half and committed three turnovers, then opened the third quarter with two more.
South Carolina capitalized with fast-break buckets and ballooned its lead to 19 points.
Duke briefly responded with a 9-0 push, but its offense couldn’t generate enough firepower to truly threaten the Gamecocks.
In the second half, South Carolina kept the formula simple: keep running when the opportunity was there — and when it wasn’t, put the ball in the hands of Okot or Edwards and let them work. More often than not, they either scored or created easy opportunities for others
