COLUMBIA, S.C. — — Freshman Joyce Edwards scored 22 points in her first women’s NCAA Tournament game as No. 1 seed South Carolina began its run at a second straight national title with a 108-48 victory over Tennessee Tech on Friday.

The Gamecocks (31-3) improved to 17-1 in the past four women’s tournaments, winning in 2022 and 2024. The lone defeat came to Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the national semifinals in 2023.

With Edwards, named to the all-Southeastern Conference first-team this season, leading the way, the top seeds of the Birmingham 2 Regional looked poised for another title in a few weeks.

South Carolina will face ninth-seeded Indiana on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16. The Hoosiers outlasted eighth-seeded Utah 76-68 earlier Friday.

Edwards scored six straight points to open up the game as the Gamecocks went ahead 31-11. The Golden Eagles (26-6), champions of the Ohio Valley Conference, saw their 17-game win streak come to an end.

Taris Thornton led Tennessee Tech with 13 points.

MiLaysia Fulwiley added 15 points as all 12 Gamecocks who played scored baskets.

Takeaways

Tennessee Tech: A bit was made about the Golden Eagles beating South Carolina in the NCAAs 36 years ago. And maybe some memories were stirred when Tech took a 2-0 lead. But things quickly turned against the Eagles as the Gamecocks went on a 20-4 run.

South Carolina: The Gamecocks had have their share of opening NCAA blowouts — they’ve beaten their past three first-round opponents by an average margin of 47 points — and this was not that much different except for the team reaching 100 points for the third time this season.

Key moment

It came early as South Carolina dominated from the start with Edwards scoring six straight after Tech trailed 5-4 to get her team going.

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