COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tessa Johnson had a career-high 16 points and MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 14 as No. 1 South Carolina made easy work of overmatched Morgan State 104-38 on Wednesday night.
The Gamecocks improved to 8-0 for the third straight season.
South Carolina had six players in double figures, with Te-Hina Paopao and Raven Johnson scoring 12 apiece and Kamilla Cardoso and Sania Feagin each finishing with 10.
Chloe Kitts had a game-high 14 rebounds, the best performance of her career.
Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley, seeking a more consistent start for her young team, tinkered with a new lineup. Point guard Raven Johnson, the starter for the previous seven games, came off the bench along with center Cardoso, also a seven-game starter.
Running the offense in Johnson’s place was Paopao, who had been starting at shooting guard, and backup center Sakima Walker was in Cardoso’s place. Tessa Johnson also received her first start. The Gamecocks certainly looked smoother at the start than in their last four games, but it was hard to call it a finished product due to the severe gap in talent.
Tarmaria Rumph had 11 points to lead Morgan State.
BIG PICTURE:
Morgan State: It’s a guarantee game that falls in with other guarantee games on the Bears’ schedule. Morgan visits Stetson, UCF, Oregon State and Stanford after a quick trip back home.
South Carolina: After two physical games at North Carolina and Duke in which South Carolina couldn’t run a majority of its offensive sets, the rhythm and flow was much smoother against the overwhelmed Bears.
UP NEXT
Morgan State returns home Saturday to play Maryland-Baltimore County.
South Carolina plays No. 11 Utah in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Sunday.