No. 1 South Carolina women's basketball earns first ranked win 81-56 over No. 17 Maryland

It wasn't always pretty, but No. 1 South Carolina women's basketball got the job done Friday at College Park, earning its first ranked win of the 2022-23 season over No. 17 Maryland, 81-56.

After the Terrapins (1-1) closed the Gamecocks' (2-0) lead to single digits at halftime, a minor altercation between Maryland's Bre McDaniel and South Carolina's Kierra Fletcher seemed to give the reigning national champions the fuel they needed. The team went on a 8-0 run immediately afterwards and never let up again to secure a victory on the road.

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Gamecocks go as Boston goes

South Carolina charged out to an early lead in the first quarter thanks to Aliyah Boston's eight points and three rebounds in the first seven minutes. However, the consensus national player of the year disappeared in the second quarter, recording zero shot attempts and turning the ball over three times. Maryland outscored the Gamecocks 14-13 to close their lead to 32-26 at halftime.

Boston bounced back in the second half to record her second double-double of the season, continuing her record-setting trend from last season. She finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds and a block, and the Gamecocks outscored Maryland in the second half, 49-30.

Maryland's Abby Meyers dominates

After losing last season's top scorer Angel Reese to LSU in the transfer portal, Maryland's offense had plenty of questions entering the matchup with the Gamecocks. Princeton transfer Abby Meyers answered them. The senior guard led all scorers at halftime with 16 points and finished with a game-high 21, shooting 9-of-23 from the field and 2-of-6 from 3-point range.

While defense has traditionally been a strength in the Dawn Staley era at South Carolina, the Gamecocks didn't give themselves good odds with 19 turnovers to 13 by Maryland. The team's best defenders, Boston and senior guard Brea Beal, got into foul trouble in the third quarter with three apiece, though both avoided fouling out.

Kierra Fletcher leads point guard battle

South Carolina is still searching for a permanent starter at point guard after last year's starter, Destanni Henderson, was drafted by the Indiana Fever in the WNBA Draft. Redshirt freshman Raven Johnson got the start in the season opener against East Tennessee State and at Maryland, but it was Fletcher, a graduate transfer from Georgia Tech, who earned the majority of the minutes at point.

Both point guard options are recovering from long-term injuries, and neither played for most of last season. Fletcher played 18 minutes to Johnson's 15, and Johnson came in mostly in the second half after the Gamecocks had put the game away. Though Fletcher's numbers weren't flashy, she was consistent across the board. She finished with three rebounds, three assists and a steal. Johnson particularly struggled offensively, going 0-for-6 from the field and 0-for-4 from three.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina women's basketball gets ranked win 81-56 vs. Maryland