Oklahoma
South Carolina women's basketball: Five Things to Watch – #13 Oklahoma
#2 South Carolina and #13 Oklahoma meet for the first time as conference rivals on Sunday. Find out how to watch and what to watch for.
1. When in doubt, Joyce Edwards
Every game seems to be another milestone in Joyce Edwards’s development., and she continues to get better an better. The latest milestone was scoring 11 of her career-high 21 points in the fourth quarter to help turn a four-point lead into an 18-point win.
Edwards has said that she understood her biggest adjustment in college would be the physicality. But knowing that and experiencing it are two different things.
“I feel like that was my biggest adjustment, actually,” Edwards said. “Just playing for the Gamecocks, with the Highlighters, helped me improve that. They’re physical. My teammates are physical as well, so I get it every day in practice. Coming out in the game, you just get better every day and eventually you get used to it.”
Now she is posting up, drawing fouls, and finishing through contact. Since SEC play began, Edwards has emerged as one of the Gamecocks’ go-to players when they need a bucket.
Edwards is still improving, which makes the future even more exciting. She can be a better rebounder. She has three-point range, but Edwards’ jump shot isn’t consistent enough yet to balance her driving ability. The future is very bright.
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2. Handling Beers
Oklahoma made a splash in the offseason when the Sooners brought in transfer Raegan Beers, one of the top available players in the portal.
Coach Jennie Baranczyk knew that to compete in the SEC she would need a post presence to supplement her guard-oriented, fast-paced style. Enter the 6-4 Beers, who leads the Sooners with 16.5 points and 8.8 rebounds this season.
South Carolina has played Beers before. Last season Beers put up 16 points and 8 rebounds for Oregon State in a 70-58 loss to South Carolina in the Elite Eight in Albany
Kamilla Cardoso guarded Beers for most of that game, with Sania Feagin picking up the rest. Feagin struggled in that game, but she has gotten better as a defender since then. The Gamecocks didn’t double much, but when they did they were effective.
Beers is a little bit like Iowa State’s Audi Crooks. She isn’t super athletic and doesn’t move especially well, but once she gets the ball in the low post her footwork and shooting touch are elite. (“She’s a pretty big woman,” Edwards deadpanned.)
Earlier this season, South Carolina defended Crooks by fronting her and not letting her get the ball in position to make a play. It was extremely effective, but largely because of Ashlyn Watkins. South Carolina will still try to deny Beers the ball in her spots, but it will look different without Watkins.
“We’ve got to do a lot of our work early,” Edwards said. “Be physical without fouling.”
Don’t be surprised if Staley uses Adhel Tac or Sakima Walker, who are both 6-6, to put some size on Beers. She’ll also try to make Beers play defense and hopefully get in foul trouble.
3. Tessa Time?
Someone on the message board (sorry, I don’t remember who) observed that every time we start to worry that a player has had a couple of quiet games, she responds with a big one. Using that logic, Tessa Johnson is due for a breakout.
Johnson began SEC play with three consecutive double-figure games, including a career-high 22 at Mississippi State. But in the last two games, she has just nine points total on 3-7 shooting.
Johnson tends to let the game come to her, which has led to few shot attempts. She might need to be more assertive because she’s too good a scorer not to shoot more.
(Coincidentally, while writing this I’m watching the Oregon State game from last season to see how the Gamecocks guarded Beers. Johnson scored a team-high 15 in that game, including a clutch three-point play that basically won the game. More of that, Tessa.)
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4. Availability report
The first availability report for Sunday’s game comes out a little after 8:00pm ET on Saturday.
South Carolina’s availability report for its last game was as clean as it will be for the rest of the season. Only Ahlyn Watkins was listed.
Beers was the only player listed for Oklahoma. She was a Game Time Decision. That decision was for Beers to start and play her normal minutes.
5. Scouting the Sooners
Beers has her own section, but Oklahoma’s veteran guards have been the heart of the team going back to the Big 12.
Skylar Vann was the Big 12 Co-Player of the Year last season, although her numbers have dropped to 9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds this season. Sahara Williams (10.1 points) was honorable mention All-Big 12 last season.
But the Sooners’ best player might be point guard Payton Verhulst. She was first-team All-Big 12 last season and is better this season, averaging 15.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists. Verhulst is also coming in off a career-high 38 points against Missouri on Thursday.
“I say that they’re relentless,” Staley said. “I say that they go end-to-end very quickly and get quick shots up, and that’s hard. They all can score the basketball, and they got a point guard that facilitates and runs their team. It’s got high IQ. When you have the head of the snake with teams like that, they’re just hard to beat with all the talent that they have.”
Even with Beers slowing the tempo slightly, Oklahoma still scores 88.1 points per game, fourth in the country, and attempts 26.2 threes (tied for 20th in the nation), hitting 33.1% for 8.7 per game.
The Ws
Who: #2 South Carolina (17-1, 5-0) vs #13 Oklahoma (15-3, 3-2)
When: 3:00 ET, Sunday, January 19
Where: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, SC
Watch: ESPN
The Oklahoma City Thunder were shocked by the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night in Paycom Center, losing 124-97. This is OKC’s second loss in as many days, losing last night in Phoenix to the Suns 108-105.
The Thunder’s record is now 30-7 and they are 6-6 in their last 12 games. The No. 1 seed in the Western Conference is playing its worst stretch of basketball in over two years.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points on 7-of-21 shooting to keep his 20-point streak alive. OKC shot a rough 28.2% from three-point range and 66.7% from the charity stripe.
Here are three takeaways from the Thunder’s 27-point home loss.
1. Inability to Make Shots
The glaring struggle for the Thunder tonight was on offense, with the team shooting 36.6% from the floor and 28.2% from three-point range. It’s difficult for any team to win shooting that poorly in a game.
The Thunder found open look after open look across the perimeter, but were unable to convert at a high rate. The Hornets were able to consistently help off of perimeter shooters to bring more defensive attention around Gilgeous-Alexander and inside the paint.
Poor shooting creates poor spacing and poor spacing creates ugly offensive execution. Poor spacing and shooting defined OKC’s woes against Charlotte.
2. Young and Hungry Hornets
Charlotte was by far the more energetic team in its win, amped up on both ends from start to finish, flying in for every loose ball. The young team came in looking to send Loud City home unhappy and they succeeded.
The Thunder were on the back end of an away/home back-to-back, having to quickly fly in from Phoenix to prepare for the game. The Hornets smelt blood in the water early, taking the game from their very first run.
After the game was tied at 33 at the end of the first quarter, Charlotte blazed into a 23-7 run throughout a large part of the second quarter to grasp a firm control of the flow of the game. The Thunder’s struggling offense could not find any momentum to claw back into the hole they fell into.
Charlotte’s shooting performance was remarkable from distance. With a plethora of shots taken with great difficulty, the Hornets managed to shoot 51.4% from three-point range.
The Hornets came in hungry and caught the reigning champions by surprise.
3. Gilgeous-Alexander Keeps Streak Alive Amid Struggles
Gilgeous-Alexander scoring above 20 points, with 21, to keep his historic 20-point streak alive, is the lone positive from a rough loss. Despite struggling through constant full-court pressure and double teams from the Hornets, the reigning MVP was able to muster just enough to keep his hunt for the record alive.
Gilgeous-Alexander shot 7-of-21 from the floor and 1-of-6 from three in the loss, adding six assists to his totals. He was OKC’s only 20-point scorer on the night.
The Canadian’s streak of scoring 20-or-more points now sits at 108 games, 18 behind Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 126.
The Sooners have added reinforcement to their backfield for the 2026 season in the form of Colorado State transfer Lloyd Avant.
The rising junior has committed to Oklahoma, and will join the program with two years of eligibility remaining. He’ll add explosiveness and versatility to an OU running back corps headlined by returning workhorses Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock.
It’s a return to the Sooner State for Avant, who spent his freshman season at Tulsa in 2024. He signed with the Golden Hurricane out of high school as a three-star recruit. At the time, TU’s head coach was Kevin Wilson, who’s now on staff with Oklahoma as an offensive analyst.
Avant made an immediate impact at Tulsa as a true freshman, rushing for 259 yards and a TD and adding a kick return touchdown. But after Wilson’s dismissal, the 5-foot-10, 200-pounder elected to enter the transfer portal and eventually landed at CSU. There, he became a weapon in several facets for the program during his lone season with the Rams. He totaled over 900 all-purpose yards, 417 of which came on the ground and 261 of which came via pass reception. He scored six total TD’s and averaged nearly six yards per touch.
Upon Avant’s second portal entry, the Sooners quickly emerged as the team to watch in his recruitment. He visited campus Sunday and didn’t take long to lock in his decision.
A native of Humble, Texas, Avant gives Oklahoma six scholarship running backs heading into the new season. He joins Robinson, Blaylock, Andy Bass, and a pair of incoming freshmen in Jonathan Hatton and DeZephen Walker. It’ll also be of some intrigue to see whether OU offers him the chance to return kicks. As a team, the Sooners attempted just two kickoff returns in 2025, opting almost exclusively for fair catches. That philosophy could change with a proven special teams weapon like Avant in the stable.
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Charlotte Hornets (12-23, 12th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (30-6, first in the Western Conference)
Oklahoma City; Monday, 8 p.m. EST
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunder -15.5; over/under is 232.5
BOTTOM LINE: Oklahoma City hosts Charlotte looking to continue its three-game home winning streak.
The Thunder have gone 17-2 at home. Oklahoma City scores 121.9 points while outscoring opponents by 14.7 points per game.
The Hornets have gone 5-13 away from home. Charlotte ranks fourth in the league averaging 15.1 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 36.7% from downtown. Kon Knueppel leads the team averaging 3.6 makes while shooting 42.8% from 3-point range.
The Thunder’s 13.6 made 3-pointers per game this season are the same per game average that the Hornets allow. The Hornets are shooting 45.6% from the field, 2.5% higher than the 43.1% the Thunder’s opponents have shot this season.
The teams square off for the second time this season. The Thunder won 109-96 in the last meeting on Nov. 16. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 33 points, and Miles Bridges led the Hornets with 15 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Chet Holmgren is averaging 18.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks for the Thunder. Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 25.0 points over the last 10 games.
Bridges is averaging 20.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists for the Hornets. Brandon Miller is averaging 4.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Thunder: 6-4, averaging 118.9 points, 42.5 rebounds, 24.7 assists, 9.9 steals and 5.7 blocks per game while shooting 48.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.3 points per game.
Hornets: 5-5, averaging 118.7 points, 45.6 rebounds, 28.8 assists, 7.6 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 45.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 117.8 points.
INJURIES: Thunder: Nikola Topic: out (groin), Thomas Sorber: out for season (knee), Ousmane Dieng: out (calf), Jaylin Williams: out (heel), Isaiah Hartenstein: out (calf).
Hornets: Mason Plumlee: out (groin), Grant Williams: out (acl), Ryan Kalkbrenner: day to day (elbow), Tidjane Salaun: day to day (ankle), Moussa Diabate: day to day (wrist).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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