Okot, the Mississippi State transfer, also had 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season and had three of South Carolina’s seven blocked shots.
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The Gamecocks were coming off their best win of the season, a 69-52 loss over No. 11 Southern Cal in Los Angeles last 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 basketball was in its collegiate infancy.
These Eagles, however, could not match Dawn Staley’s powerful program.
After Madison Ruff’s basket put Winthrop up 2-0, the Gamecocks went on a 16-2 run that essentially put the game on ice.
And South Carolina barely missed a beat in the first two quarters. Latson made all seven of his shots, Okot made all six attempts while Edwards finished 7 of 9 from the floor as the Gamecocks led 61-27 at the half.
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The Gamecocks kept the pressure on in the second half and earned their seventh straight win over Winthrop.
Freshman Agot Maker scored 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 outrebounded 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 win over Savannah State when A’ja Wilson had 23, Elem Ibiam had 21 and Alaina Coates had 20.
NO. 4 TEXAS 95, JAMES MADISON 56
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Madison Booker scored 18 points, Jordan Lee scored 16 and No. 4 Texas beat James Madison for its 29th straight home win.
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Booker, a junior All-American, also made six of the Longhorns’ 21 steals. Lee also had a big game in the 93-62 win at James Madison last season, making six three-point baskets without a miss and scoring 20.
Rori Harmon had 11 points and 12 assists (with one turnover) and five steals for Texas (5-0). The senior point guard needs 14 assists to surpass the school record of 776 set by Kamie Ethridge in 1986. Texas assisted on 29 of 39 baskets.
Breya Cunningham and Kyla Oldacre scored 17 and 14 points, respectively, as Texas dominated inside with a 50-26 advantage in the paint. Cunningham led Texas with eight rebounds.
Peyton McDaniel, the Sun Belt Conference player of the year last season, led James Madison with 20 points, but didn’t heat up until the fourth quarter, when she scored 13.
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The Dukes (3-3) shot just 33% from the field and committed 29 turnovers, which the Longhorns converted into 31 points.
NO. 8 OKLAHOMA 112, EAST TEXAS A&M 59
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Raegan Beers had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and eighth-ranked Oklahoma took control early to beat East Texas A&M.
Sahara Williams had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Payton Verhulst added 17 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma (5-1), which had a 65-29 rebounding advantage.
Beers made 11 of 14 shots for the Sooners, who outscored the Lions 66-16 in the paint.
Reza Po scored 15 points and Tiani Ellison added 14 for East Texas A&M (2-2). Oklahoma held the Lions to 18 of 70 shooting (26%).
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Five players scored in double figures for the Sooners. High-scoring freshman Aaliyah Chavez was not among them.
Chavez, named SEC Freshman of the Week on Tuesday after averaging 21.7 points in three wins, struggled to find her opportunity against the Lions. He missed nine of his first 12 shots and ended up going 4 of 15 for nine points. The consensus five-star recruit missed seven of eight three-point shots.
Oklahoma pulled away early. After East Texas cut the lead to 14-12, the Sooners went on a 13-0 run that included a pair of 3-pointers from Verhulst to make the score 27-12.
Oklahoma led 56-32 at halftime thanks to 15 points from Williams, who made five of six shots. Beers scored 10 points and six of the Sooners’ 32 rebounds.
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Oklahoma started the third quarter on a 10-2 run that featured a three-pointer and two layups from Beers. The Sooners extended the lead to 87-46 on a layup by Caya Smith.
NO. 16 NC STATE 71, COASTAL CAROLINA 58
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Zoe Brooks and Zamareya Jones each had 13 points, six rebounds and eight assists, and No. 16 NC State beat Coastal Carolina.
NC State (3-2) bounced back after a 69-59 loss to then-No. 17 TCU on Sunday in a matchup between teams that reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament last season.
NC State was outscored by Coastal Carolina in the third and fourth quarters, but it wasn’t enough for the Chanticleers to overcome their 13-point lead in the first half.
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CCU led 7-4 with 7:38 left in the first quarter, but didn’t make another field goal until 3:20 of the second to trail 26-11. The Chanticleers made just 5 of 31 shots (16.1%) in the first half to go into halftime leading 34-13.
NC State twice saw its lead cut to nine points in the third quarter, but the Wolfpack had an answer on the other end both times. NC State led by double figures throughout the quarter.
Khamil Pierre had 10 rebounds and nine points for NC State, which ended a 24-game winning streak at home on Sunday.
Tessa Grady scored 22 points and made five 3-pointers for Coastal Carolina (2-4). Tracey Hueston had 13 points and 11 rebounds. The Chanticleers went 23-9 last year to earn a WNIT postseason appearance.
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NO. 17 VANDERBILT 87, WESTERN KENTUCKY 49
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — Mikayla Blakes scored 28 points and made five 3-pointers for No. 17 Vanderbilt in a rout of Western Kentucky.
Blakes, who made 10 of 16 shots, also had nine rebounds, six steals and three assists. His six steals are the second most of his career.
It was the 23rd consecutive game in which Blakes scored in double figures. He entered the game averaging 22.7 points per game, 14th in the nation.
Sacha Washington added 15 for the Commodores (4-0) on 7-of-9 shooting and six rebounds. Justine Pissott scored 12 points and Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda added 11.
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The Commodores scored 23 in each of the first two quarters to take a 46-24 lead into halftime. They took the lead 1:16 into the game and never relinquished it, using a 16-3 run to create a 20-6 lead.
Tatum Boettjer was the only Lady Toppers player to reach double figures with 12 points and four 3-pointers. Tia Shelling had nine points and seven rebounds, but turned the ball over eight times. Western Kentucky shot 33% from the field (18-55) and 3-point territory (6-18).
It’s the fourth straight 4-0 start to the season for the Commodores, the first time in program history they’ve done that.
STREET. JOHN 74, NO. 18 STATE OF OKLAHOMA 67
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NEW YORK (AP) — Brooke Moore scored 13 points, Kylie Lavelle and Sa’Mya Wyatt each added 12, and St. John’s defeated No. 18 Oklahoma State.
Oklahoma State shot 30% from the field in the first half, but went 6 of 9 in an early stretch of the third quarter, erasing a 10-point halftime deficit to take a 41-40 lead with about 3 minutes left in the period.
After that early Cowgirls run, neither team led by more than four points until a 3-pointer by Janeya Grant gave the Red Storm (4-1) a 58-51 lead with six minutes left in the game. A three-point play by Beautiful Waheed followed by a layup by Moore made the score 63-52 with 3 1/2 minutes left.
The Cowgirls (5-1) averaged 105.6 points in winning their first five games, all at home. They led the country with 34.8 three-point attempts per game and 14.4 three-pointers made. At the cozy Carnesecca Arena, St. John’s limited them to 16 attempts and four hits.
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Stailee Heard scored 15 points and Achol Akot 13 for Oklahoma State. Lena Girardi and Jadyn Wooten scored 10 points each.
NO. 21 LOUISVILLE 96, MOREHEAD STATE 49
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Anaya Hardy scored 12 points with 13 rebounds and was one of seven Louisville players in double figures in the No. 21 Cardinals’ rout of Morehead State.
The Cardinals (4-1) dominated from the start, going on runs of 10-0 and 13-0 that led to a 29-10 lead after one quarter. Louisville led 50-22 at halftime and added 35 points in the third quarter. The Cardinals scored 14 of the final 17 points in the third, building a 46-point lead at 85-39 heading into the fourth.
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Laura Ziegler, Tajianna Roberts, Imari Berry and Reagan Bender scored 13 points for Louisville. Elif Estambulluoglu and Reyna Scott scored 11 each. Louisville shot 54% and made 20 of 23 free throws.
Violet McNece scored 12 points and Marie Sepp 10 for the Eagles (1-3).
The game was the first of a series of six home games in the next seven outings for Louisville.
NO. 25 WASHINGTON 61, FRESNO STATE 43
SEATTLE (AP) — Sayvia Sellers and Avery Howell each scored 14 points and No. 25 Washington survived Fresno State.
The Huskies (4-0) scored 25 points in the second quarter on 63% shooting and led 37-20 at halftime. The 25 points were one more than Washington scored in the second half.
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Washington forced 28 turnovers, scored 20 points after those turnovers and held Fresno State to 35% shooting from the field.
The Huskies had 20 turnovers and shot 39% for the game.
Sellers added eight assists, four rebounds, three steals and three blocks. His 14 points were a season low after tying his career high with 30 points in a win over Utah last week. Her performance against the Utes earned her the Big Ten Player of the Week award, making her the first UW player in the last five seasons to be named conference player of the week.
The 5-foot-7 junior entered the game averaging 23.3 points per game, 10th best in the nation.
Danae Powell led Fresno State (3-2) with 10 points.