First one down: No. 1 South Carolina powers past Presbyterian by 52 in NCAA opener

No. 1 South Carolina defeated No. 16 Presbyterian 91-39 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at Colonial Life Arena.

Coach Dawn Staley is now 12-0 in first-round games at USC. The Gamecocks can now look ahead to their second-round matchup Sunday (and rematch of their regular-season meeting) versus No. 8 North Carolina.

“They made us adjust,” Staley said of Presbyterian after the game. “I thought our team did a really great job at adjusting, especially in the third and fourth quarters. And then we got some really good play with the two that are sitting up here. Chloe (Kitts) was perfect from the floor with a double-double. Lay (MiLaysia Fulwiley) did a great job knocking down some 3 for us.”

USC started guards Te-Hina Paopao, Raven Johnson and Tessa Johnson along with forwards Sania Feagin and Ashlyn Watkins. Center Kamilla Cardoso watched the game from South Carolina’s locker room as she served a one-game suspension. Junior Bree Hall didn’t play either, as she was “held out for precautionary reasons,” the team announced.

Five Gamecocks finished with double-digit points: MiLaysia Fulwiley (17), Chloe Kitts (tying her career-high 21 points plus 13 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the year), Paopao (18), Feagin (12) and Raven Johnson (11).

South Carolina (33-0) will host No. 8 UNC (20-12) at 1 p.m. Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a trip to Albany for the Sweet 16 at stake.

MiLaysia Fulwiley stars in NCAA Tournament debut

Coming off a historic postseason debut in the SEC Tournament (where she became the first freshman to win the event’s MVP since Candace Parker in 2006), Fulwiley had a stellar first career NCAA Tournament game.

She came off the bench and played eight minutes in the first half. The dynamic freshman had an impact on the game within seconds, quickly sinking two 3-pointers met with a warm reception from the USC-heavy crowd. She pulled up for another 3 on the next possession, this time at least a couple feet behind the arc. The Gamecocks fans audibly anticipated another make, but she missed. “Awwww,” the crowd said.

No matter, though, as she went on to sink two more 3s, ending the half 4-of-6 for 12 points and tying her career-high of made 3s in a game (last done earlier in the month versus LSU in the SEC Championship game).

“I was just excited to see the ball going through the net,” Fulwiley said. “I was just holding my shooting form up, and it was just dropping, and I kept it up until I got down the court. I’m just happy to all my hard work that I put in with Khadijah (Sessions) every day has just been paying off.”

Fulwiley finished the game with 17 points, made possible by a career-high five 3-pointers.

Gamecocks flex depth, even with eight available players

South Carolina made its NCAA Tournament debut with eight available players. But it didn’t matter.

By halftime, all eight players had checked into the game, seven of those eight had at least one point and USC’s bench accounted for about 48% of its total points (23 of 48).

At the end of the game, five South Carolina players had scored in double digits, and the bench accounted for 43 of USC’s 91 total points.

South Carolina turns defense into offense

South Carolina snagged double-digit steals Friday for the 13th time this season.

Raven Johnson led the Gamecocks with four. Watkins had two right behind her. Every South Carolina player aside from Fulwiley had at least one steal by game’s end.

USC was able to convert those 11 steals and six additional Presbyterian turnovers into 18 points.

South Carolina WBB’s next game

Who: No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 8 North Carolina

When: Sunday, 1 p.m.

TV/Stream: ABC