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Top-ranked South Carolina holds off No. 20 Maryland in season opener in Paris
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- Top-ranked South Carolina holds off No. 20 Maryland in season opener in Paris
PARIS (AP) — Joyce Edwards found her touch in the second quarter and ended up with 23 points to lead five players in double figures on Monday, and top-ranked South Carolina withstood a strong run from No. 20 Maryland to win 101-93 in the season opener for both teams in Paris.
For South Carolina, it was a cushion from an early runaway that helped it survive the Maryland comeback. The Gamecocks had 27 fast-break points in the opening 20 minutes, and 21 points off turnovers.
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Maryland staged a rally in the second half, cutting a 61-33 halftime gap and a 31-point edge at one point to 89-80 with 4:30 left, forcing South Carolina coach Dawn Staley to take a timeout. That break apparently snapped the Gamecocks out of their funk — they went on a 7-0 run.
Maryland got it down to 96-90, but two free throws each by Jordan Lee and Jerzy Robinson helped hold off the Terrapins one last time.
Addi Mack fueled the Maryland comeback, hitting 31 of her game-high and career-high 35 points in the second half. She was 14 of 20 from the field, including 6 of 10 from 3-point range.
Agot Mateer added 20 points for South Carolina. Robinson and Tessa Johnson scored 15 apiece and Lee had 13.
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Maryland's attack struggled in the first half, but South Carolina mainly was responsible for that. The Terrapins went 3 for 15 in the opening 10 minutes, including a 1 for 6 start.
On the other side, South Carolina started hot and maintained the momentum. It hit its first seven shots and ended the first quarter at 9 of 15.
The Terrapins made a modest run early in the second quarter to cut into the 33-13 deficit late in the opening quarter. A stepback jumper by Mack brought Maryland to 40-27 at the 6:12 mark. A quick 6-0 run stalled Maryland's momentum, and the Gamecocks hit seven of their last nine shots of the half to build a 61-33 advantage after Edwards hit a jumper from the left wing as the buzzer sounded.
Edwards missed her only two shots in the first quarter, then went 6-for-8 in the second quarter and finished the half with 13 points.
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The game was a homecoming for two South Carolina players, Alicia Tournabize and Justine Loubens.
Tournebize, a sophomore who joined Staley's team last season, became the first documented French woman to dunk in a game in September 2024. She had an early chance for an alley-oop dunk on a pass from Robinson, but the pass went in for a 3-pointer, building a 33-13 lead with 25.6 seconds left in the first quarter.
Loubens is a freshman from southern France. She entered the game in the second quarter and had a steal and assist on a transition basket from Edwards in that stretch.
Next up
South Carolina takes on No. 12 North Carolina on Sunday in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Maryland hosts George Mason on Sunday.
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