After dominating Kentucky over the weekend, South Carolina basketball entered Thursday night's game just two wins shy of another perfect regular season. Standing between them and history first was the Arkansas Razorbacks. Mike Neighbors' team hoped to play spoiler and keep Carolina from becoming the first team ever to have back-to-back perfect regular seasons in the SEC.
Kamilla Cardoso was back after missing two games with soreness, and Sania Feagin entered the starting lineup for the first time.
The game started before the clock began ticking as the Gamecocks were assessed an administrative technical foul for a late lineup change. Arkansas made both shots to give them a 2-0 lead before the opening tip, and the lead grew from there as the Razorbacks led 7-2 in no time at all.
The Gamecocks answered quickly, however, as they went 3-4 from the field with makes from Sania Feagin (getting her first career start), Te-Hina Paopao, and Bree Hall. A 3-point make from each team gave the Lady Hogs a 10-9 advantage. Arkansas made their 3rd 3-pointer a couple of possessions later, and USC trailed 15-13 heading into the media timeout.
Two quick post makes from Ashlyn Watkins and Feagin put the Gamecocks back ahead, and they kept their foot on the gas. Dawn Staley's team pushed ahead by 9 in what felt like a blink of an eye, but five straight points to end the period allowed Arkansas to cut the lead to just 4 points at 26-22.
Chloe Kitts came in for her first action at the start of the 2nd quarter, and she scored 4 quick points as the Gamecocks went up by 10. The sophomore had 6 points and 2 rebounds in her first 5 minutes on the floor.
The Gamecock defense completely locked down Arkansas' offense in the 2nd quarter. The home team didn't score until 7 minutes into the period when Carly Keats made a tough and-1 through a foul from Te-Hina Paopao. They would make their next three shots from the field, but even so, Carolina dominated the 2nd quarter to extend their lead to 47-31 heading into halftime.
The post-halftime scoring pace was wild for the first few minutes as the Gamecocks started 4-4 and Arkansas began 3-4. Jenna Lawrence hit a 3-pointer to make the score 57-43, and the Razorbacks were even in the 3rd period at the media timeout, matching South Carolina's 12 points.
Raven Johnson put herself on triple-double watch as she had 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists just past the halfway point of the 3rd. A Johnson assist kickstarted a 10-0 run for Dawn Staley's squad in under 2 minutes, and the Gamecocks led by 24 points.
Ashlyn Watkins continued to own the paint as she moved her way to a new career-high in scoring (19) and 8 rebounds by the end of the 3rd.
The 4th quarter was, like so many South Carolina basketball games, a cruise to the finish. With the team's short bench, the starters still played some, but it was clear that the Gamecocks had eased off of the throttle a bit.
The lead ballooned to 37 as the clock wound down, and the Gamecocks finished this one up with a lopsided 98-61 victory.