There are moments in college basketball that transcend the scoreboard — moments where a single performance stops everyone in the building cold, including some of the greatest players the sport has ever produced. Sunday at Colonial Life Arena was one of those moments.
Royalty in the Building
When a four-time WNBA MVP walks through the doors of your arena on gameday, it sends a message about the cultural weight of your program. A’ja Wilson, South Carolina’s most celebrated alumna and the reigning face of the WNBA, was in attendance at Colonial Life Arena as the No. 3 Gamecocks hosted No. 17 Ole Miss in what would become a landmark afternoon — both for the program and for one player in particular.
Wilson did not come to watch a routine game. She came to watch a team she loves compete for championship glory. What she witnessed, however, may not have been what she expected. Because on this Sunday afternoon, it was not the usual suspects who stole the show. It was a rising force named Madina Okot — and even A’ja Wilson could not stay in her seat.
Okot Forces the GOAT to Her Feet
The defining image of Sunday’s game was not a highlight reel dunk or a buzzer-beater. It was simpler, and in many ways more powerful than that: A’ja Wilson, four-time MVP, rising to her feet in stunned admiration as Madina Okot drained three-pointer after three-pointer with a purity and confidence that left the entire arena breathless.
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Okot was, in a word, perfect from beyond the arc. She went 3-of-3 from three-point range against Ole Miss, a performance that was not an anomaly but rather the continuation of something extraordinary. Over her last two games, Okot has shot a flawless 5-of-5 from three-point range — a level of shooting efficiency that would be remarkable for a dedicated perimeter player, let alone a frontcourt presence of Okot’s size and profile.
For A’ja Wilson — a player who has seen everything this sport has to offer at the highest professional level — to be visibly stunned by what Okot was doing speaks volumes. It was a passing of the torch moment in spirit, a generational acknowledgment from one of South Carolina’s greatest ever to one of its brightest futures.
The Numbers Behind the Brilliance
Okot’s shooting display was just one dimension of a performance that was as complete as it was captivating. She finished Sunday’s game with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks in just 22 minutes of play — a stat line that underscores not just her offensive range but her all-around dominance as a two-way player.
The 10 rebounds gave Okot her fifth consecutive double-double, a streak that reflects consistency at the highest level of the college game. Her 18th double-double of the season is tied for third most in the entire country — a national ranking that places her firmly in the conversation among the elite frontcourt players in women’s college basketball, regardless of conference or competition level.
What makes Okot’s numbers even more striking is the efficiency with which she achieves them. Twenty-two minutes. Seventeen points. Ten rebounds. Four blocks. She is not padding statistics over extended minutes — she is producing at an elite rate in a condensed window, which is arguably the more impressive achievement.
Edwards Provides the Perfect Complement
While Okot was busy making A’ja Wilson leap from her chair, Joyce Edwards was quietly putting together one of her finest performances of the season. Edwards finished with 21 points and six rebounds, providing the offensive engine that kept South Carolina’s foot firmly on the accelerator from the opening tip.
The combination of Edwards and Okot on Sunday was a masterclass in complementary basketball. Edwards operating as the primary scoring threat drew defensive attention and created space, while Okot punished Ole Miss both inside and from the perimeter in ways the Rebels had no tactical answer for. Together, they accounted for 38 points and 16 rebounds between them — numbers that, on their own, would have been enough to win most games comfortably.
Ole Miss Never Had a Chance
The 85-48 final score tells the full story of where this game went once South Carolina locked in. Ole Miss, playing its fourth game in eight days and visibly fatigued, could not keep pace with the Gamecocks’ energy, depth, or individual brilliance. The Rebels were held to just nine points in both the second and third quarters, shot 17.6% from the field during that stretch, and committed 10 turnovers as South Carolina’s defense made every possession feel like an ordeal.
Ole Miss star Cotie McMahon, who entered averaging 20.7 points per game, was held to just two points on 0-of-9 shooting — a performance that reflected just how complete South Carolina’s defensive effort was from start to finish.
A Moment That Will Be Remembered
Long after the championship banner is raised and the trophy is secured, Sunday’s game will be remembered for something more intimate and more telling than a final score. It will be remembered as the afternoon A’ja Wilson stood up in the stands because a young woman named Madina Okot gave her no choice.
In that moment, a four-time MVP — a player who has defined what excellence looks like in this program and in this sport — witnessed the next chapter of South Carolina basketball being written in real time. And she responded the way any true lover of the game would: with her feet, her applause, and her genuine, unfiltered awe.
South Carolina did not just clinch an SEC title on Sunday. They put the country on notice that Madina Okot is coming — and even the greatest players in the world are watching.
