South Carolina Women's Basketball Holds Off Maryland 101-93 in Paris as Addi Mack Scores 35 in the Season Opener
The No. 1 Gamecocks built a 31-point lead in Paris, then had to survive a 35-point afternoon from Maryland's Addi Mack to open the season 1-0.
College basketball's opening day delivered its first classic in Paris. Top-ranked South Carolina beat No. 20 Maryland 101-93 on Monday at Adidas Arena in the Oui-Play season opener for both teams, according to the Associated Press report read in full this cycle, riding a first half so dominant that the Gamecocks needed almost every point of it by the final minute.
South Carolina opened 6-for-6 from the floor, led 33-14 after the first quarter and stretched the margin to 31 before halftime, going to the break ahead 61-33 behind 27 fast-break points and 21 points off turnovers. Joyce Edwards, who missed her only two shots in the first quarter, went 6-for-8 in the second and finished with 23 points to lead five Gamecocks in double figures; Jerzy Robinson and Tessa Johnson scored 15 apiece and Jordan Lee added 13.
Maryland's answer was Addi Mack. The sophomore guard scored 31 of her career-high 35 points in the second half, shooting 14-for-20 from the field and 6-for-10 from three-point range with six assists, and the Terrapins won the second half by 20. Maryland cut the deficit to 89-80 with 4:30 left, South Carolina answered with a 7-0 run out of a timeout by coach Dawn Staley, and after the Terrapins closed to 96-90 in the final minute, late free throws by Lee and Robinson closed it out.
It was the 10th all-time meeting between the schools, and South Carolina never trailed. Next up, the Gamecocks (1-0) play No. 12 North Carolina on Sunday in Charlotte, while Maryland (0-1) hosts George Mason on Sunday.
