Wilson's career game leads USC women past Texas 76-67

AUSTIN, Texas — A’ja Wilson scored a career-best 31 points and had 12 rebounds to help No. 3 South Carolina beat No. 14 Texas 76-67 on Thursday night in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

Wilson scored nine points in the fourth quarter. Kaela Davis added 12 points, and Tyasha Harris had 10 for the Gamecocks (6-0).

Kelsey Lang had 15 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks for Texas (2-3), but spent much of the game in foul trouble. Ariel Atkins added 14 points, and Joyner Holmes had 11.

Texas led by two points late in the third quarter. But South Carolina finished the period with a 10-2 run, helped along the way by five straight missed free throws by Texas.

Wilson, a 6-foot-5 all-America forward, scored 18 points in the first half, two fewer than her previous season best for an entire game.

South Carolina shot 17 free throws in the half, 15 more than Texas. Six Longhorns picked up two fouls apiece in the half. Even so, they went to the locker room trailing by only 33-30 after a 3-point basket by McCarty late in the half. That basket represented one edge for the Longhorns during the half. They made three treys, while South Carolina missed its only two attempts.

BIG PICTURE

South Carolina: The Gamecocks are 3-0 against teams ranked in the top 15. This game was more difficult than the other two, when they beat Ohio State by 12 before crushing Louisville by 24. South Carolina limited McCarty, the Longhorns’ leading scorer, to seven points, nine fewer than her average. In their previous game, the Gamecocks held Louisville star Asia Durr to seven points fewer than her average.

Texas: The Longhorns are 0-3 against teams in the top 15, but they were more competitive this time. They lost at Stanford by 12 and at Mississippi State by 11. Jada Underwood, a reserve wing player for Texas, missed the game against South Carolina because she is under concussion protocol for an injury she suffered in practice. Underwood, a freshman, averages 5.8 points in 12.3 minutes a game.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2 Connecticut won this week and remain undefeated, so movement by Spouth Carolina is unlikely unless it loses at Duke on Sunday.

UP NEXT

South Carolina is at Duke on Sunday.

Texas faces No. 2 Connecticut on Sunday in Uncasville, Connecticut.