Central Plains FFA Chapter

11/19 20:05 CST Latson leads three players with 20-plus points in No. 2 South Carolina's 106-56 blowout of Winthrop Latson leads three players with 20-plus points in No. 2 South Carolina's 106-56 blowout of Winthrop By PETE IACOBELLI Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) --- Ta'Niya Latson scored 24 points, Madina Okot had 23 and Joyce Edwards 22 as No. 2 South Carolina started 5-0 for the fifth straight season with a 106-56 victory over Winthrop on Wednesday night. Okot, the Mississippi State transfer, also had 11 rebounds for third double-double of the season, and had three of South Carolina's seven blocked shots. The Gamecocks were coming off their best win of the season, a 69-52 beat down of No. 11 Southern Cal in Los Angeles this past Saturday and never let up against the Eagles (2-3) of the Big South Conference. Winthrop once dominated South Carolina in the 1970s, winning 13 of the first 19 meetings when women's hoops was in its collegiate infancy. These Eagles, though, could not match up with Dawn Staley's powerhouse program. After Madison Ruff's basket put Winthrop up 2-0, the Gamecocks took off on a 16-2 run that essentially put the game on ice. And South Carolina barely missed in the opening two quarters. Latson made all seven of her shots, Okot hit all six attempts while Edwards finished 7 of 9 from the floor as the Gamecocks led 61-27 at the half. The Gamecocks kept the pressure on in the second half and cruised to their seventh straight win over Winthrop. Freshman Agot Makeer had 12 points while senior Raven Johnson had a game-high 10 assists. South Carolina's defense held Winthrop to 32% shooting, forced 15 turnovers and outrebound the Eagles 46-24. It was the first time South Carolina had three players with 20 or more points in the same game since a 2014 victory over Savannah State when A'ja Wilson had 23, Elem Ibiam had 21 and Alaina Coates had 20. Mya Pierfax led the Eagles with 16 points.

Up next Winthrop plays Clinton at home on Friday. South Carolina continues its homestand Sunday against Queens. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball