Three players top 20 points in No. 2 South Carolina’s 106-56 rout of Winthrop

By Canadian Press on November 19, 2025.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Ta’Niya Latson scored 24 points, Madina Okot had 23 and Joyce Edwards 22 as No. 2 South Carolina started 5-0 for the fifth straight season with a 106-56 victory over Winthrop on Wednesday night.

Okot, the Mississippi State transfer, also had 11 rebounds for third double-double of the season, and had three of South Carolina’s seven blocked shots.

The Gamecocks were coming off their best win of the season, a 69-52 beat down of No. 11 Southern Cal in Los Angeles this past Saturday and never let up against the Eagles (2-3) of the Big South Conference.

Winthrop once dominated South Carolina in the 1970s, winning 13 of the first 19 meetings when women’s hoops was in its collegiate infancy.

These Eagles, though, could not match up with Dawn Staley’s powerhouse program.

After Madison Ruff’s basket put Winthrop up 2-0, the Gamecocks took off on a 16-2 run that essentially put the game on ice.

And South Carolina barely missed in the opening two quarters. Latson made all seven of her shots, Okot hit all six attempts while Edwards finished 7 of 9 from the floor as the Gamecocks led 61-27 at the half.

The Gamecocks kept the pressure on in the second half and cruised to their seventh straight win over Winthrop.

Freshman Agot Makeer had 12 points while senior Raven Johnson had a game-high 10 assists.

South Carolina’s defense held Winthrop to 32% shooting, forced 15 turnovers and outrebound the Eagles 46-24.

It was the first time South Carolina had three players with 20 or more points in the same game since a 2014 victory over Savannah State when A’ja Wilson had 23, Elem Ibiam had 21 and Alaina Coates had 20.

NO. 4 TEXAS 95, JAMES MADISON 56

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Madison Booker scored 18 points, Jordan Lee had 16, and No. 4 Texas beat James Madison for its 29th straight win at home.

Booker, an All-American junior, also made six of the Longhorns’ 21 steals. Lee also had a big game in a 93-62 win at James Madison last season, making six 3-point baskets without missing while scoring 20.

Rori Harmon had 11 points and 12 assists — to one turnover — and five steals for Texas (5-0). The senior point guard needs 14 assists to surpass the school record of 776 set by Kamie Ethridge in 1986. Texas assisted on 29 of 39 baskets.

Breya Cunningham and Kyla Oldacre scored 17 and 14 points, respectively, as Texas dominated inside with a 50-26 advantage in the paint. Cunningham led Texas with eight rebounds.

Peyton McDaniel, the Sun Belt Conference player of the year last season, led James Madison with 20 points but didn’t heat up until the fourth quarter, when she scored 13.

The Dukes (3-3) shot just 33% from the field while committing 29 turnovers, which the Longhorns turned into 31 points.

NO. 8 OKLAHOMA 112, EAST TEXAS A&M 59

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Raegan Beers had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 8 Oklahoma took control early to beat East Texas A&M.

Sahara Williams had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Payton Verhulst added 17 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma (5-1), which owned a 65-29 rebounding advantage.

Beers made 11 of 14 shots for the Sooners, who outscored the Lions 66-16 in the paint.

Reza Po scored 15 points and Tiani Ellison added 14 for East Texas A&M (2-2). Oklahoma limited the Lions to 18 of 70 shooting (26%).

Five players scored in double figures for the Sooners. High-scoring freshman Aaliyah Chavez was not among them.

Chavez, named SEC Freshman of the Week on Tuesday after average 21.7 points in three wins, struggled to find her shot against the Lions. She missed nine of her first 12 shots and finished 4 of 15 for nine points. The consensus five-star recruit missed seven of eight 3-point shots.

Oklahoma pulled away early. After East Texas cut the lead to 14-12, the Sooners went on a 13-0 run that included a pair of 3-pointers by Verhulst to make it 27-12.

Oklahoma led 56-32 at halftime behind 15 points from Williams, who made five of six shots. Beers had 10 points and six of the Sooners’ 32 rebounds.

Oklahoma began the third quarter on a 10-2 run that featured a 3-pointer and two layups by Beers. The Sooners extended the lead to 87-46 on a layup by Caya Smith.

NO. 16 N.C. STATE 71, COASTAL CAROLINA 58

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Zoe Brooks and Zamareya Jones each had 13 points, six rebounds and eight assists, and No. 16 N.C. State beat Coastal Carolina.

N.C. State (3-2) bounced back after a 69-59 loss to then-No. 17 TCU on Sunday in a matchup between teams that reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament last season.

N.C. State was outscored by Coastal Carolina in the third and fourth quarters, but it was not enough for the Chanticleers to overcome scoring 13 first-half points.

CCU led 7-4 with 7:38 left in the first quarter but did not make another field goal until the 3:20 mark of the second to trail 26-11. The Chanticleers made just 5 of 31 shots (16.1%) in the first half to trail 34-13 at the break.

N.C. State twice had its lead cut to nine points in the third quarter, but the Wolfpack had an answer at the other end both times. N.C. State led by double figures the entire fourth.

Khamil Pierre grabbed 10 rebounds to go with nine points for N.C. State, which had a 24-game home winning streak end on Sunday.

Tessa Grady scored 22 points and made five 3-pointers for Coastal Carolina (2-4). Tracey Hueston had 13 points and 11 rebounds. The Chanticleers finished 23-9 last year to earn a postseason WNIT appearance.

NO. 17 VANDERBILT 87, WESTERN KENTUCKY 49

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — Mikayla Blakes scored 28 points and made five 3-pointers for No. 17 Vanderbilt in a rout of Western Kentucky.

Blakes, who was 10-of-16 shooting, also had nine rebounds, six steals and three assists. Her six-steal tally is the second most in her career.

It was the 23rd consecutive game that Blakes has scored in double figures. She entered the game averaging 22.7 points per game, 14th in the nation.

Sacha Washington added 15 for the Commodores (4-0) on 7-of-9 shooting to go with six rebounds. Justine Pissott had 12 points and Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda added 11.

The Commodores scored 23 in each of the first two quarters to take a 46-24 lead into the break. They took the lead 1:16 into the game and never relinquished it, using a 16-3 run to create a 20-6 lead.

Tatum Boettjer was the only player for the Lady Toppers to reach double figures with 12 points on four 3-pointers. Tia Shelling had nine points and seven rebounds, but turned the ball over eight times. Western Kentucky shot 33% from the field (18-55) and 3-point territory (6-18).

It’s a fourth straight 4-0 start to a season by the Commodores, the first time in program history they’ve accomplished that.

ST. JOHN’S 74, NO. 18 OKLAHOMA STATE 67

NEW YORK (AP) — Brooke Moore scored 13 points, Kylie Lavelle and Sa’Mya Wyatt added 12 each, and St. John’s defeated No. 18 Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma State shot 30% from the field in the first half but buried 6 of 9 in an early stretch of the third quarter, erasing a 10-point halftime deficit to take a 41-40 lead with about 3 minutes left in the period.

After that opening run by the Cowgirls, neither team led by more than four points until a 3-pointer by Janeya Grant gave the Red Storm (4-1) a 58-51 lead with six minutes left in the game. A three-point play by Beautiful Waheed followed by Moore’s layup made it 63-52 with 3 1/2 minutes left.

The Cowgirls (5-1) averaged 105.6 points in winning their first five games, all at home. They led the country with 34.8 3-point attempts per game and 14.4 3-point makes. In cozy Carnesecca Arena, St. John’s held them to 16 attempts and four makes.

Stailee Heard had 15 points and Achol Akot 13 for Oklahoma State. Lena Girardi and Jadyn Wooten each scored 10.

NO. 21 LOUISVILLE 96, MOREHEAD STATE 49

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Anaya Hardy had 12 points with 13 rebounds and was one of seven Louisville players in double-figures scoring in the No. 21 Cardinals’ rout of Morehead State.

The Cardinals (4-1) dominated from the beginning, with runs of 10-0 and 13-0 leading to a 29-10 lead after one quarter. Louisville led 50-22 at halftime and added 35 points in the third quarter. The Cardinals scored 14 of the last 17 points in the third, building a 46-point lead at 85-39 heading to the fourth.

Laura Ziegler, Tajianna Roberts, Imari Berry and Reagan Bender all scored 13 points for Louisville. Elif Istanbulluoglu and Reyna Scott each scored 11. Louisville shot 54% and made 20 of 23 free throws.

Violet McNece had 12 points and Marie Sepp 10 for the Eagles (1-3).

The game was the first in a stretch of six home games in the next seven outings for Louisville.

NO. 25 WASHINGTON 61, FRESNO STATE 43

SEATTLE (AP) — Sayvia Sellers and Avery Howell each scored 14 points and No. 25 Washington outlasted Fresno State.

The Huskies (4-0) scored 25 points in the second quarter on 63% shooting and led 37-20 at halftime. The 25 points were one more than Washington scored in the second half.

Washington forced 28 turnovers, scored 20 points after those takeaways, and held Fresno State to 35% from the field.

The Huskies had 20 turnovers and shot 39% for the game.

Sellers added eight assists, four rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Her 14 points were a season low after tying her career high with 30 points in a win over Utah last week. Her performance against the Utes led to the Big Ten Player of the Week award, making her the first UW player in the past five seasons to be named a conference player of the week.

The 5-foot-7 junior entered the game with an average of 23.3 points per game, 10th best in the nation.

Danae Powell led Fresno State (3-2) with 10 points.

The Associated Press

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