OXFORD, Miss. -- — Sania Feagin scored 22 points, Chloe Kitts had 16 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, and No. 6 South Carolina beat Mississippi 75-59 on Thursday night.

The win kept the Gamecocks (26-3, 14-1 Southeastern Conference) tied with No. 1 Texas at the top the league standings.

Feagin finished 10 of 13 from the field as South Carolina expanded a 37-33 halftime lead, closing with a 20-12 surge in the final period.

Sira Thienou led Ole Miss (18-9, 9-6) with 15 points, and Christeen Iwuala added 10 points with nine rebounds.

The Rebels forced 15 turnovers and blocked nine shots but shot only 37% from the field. South Carolina shot 45% from the field but was 13 of 25 in the second half.

Takeaways

South Carolina: Grinding out a road win against an inspired crowd and a certain NCAA Tournament team was impressive. South Carolina locked up one of the top four seeds, earning a double-bye in the SEC Tournament. After losing two of three starts in mid-February, the defending national champions appear to be trending up again.

Ole Miss: The loss will drop the Rebels into a five-team race for the four single-bye slots in the SEC Tournament. The defense provided another stingy performance for 30 minutes, but offensive consistency remains an issue.

Key moment

South Carolina built a 44-35 lead on the strength of a 14-4 run that spanned the second and third quarters. Raven Johnson capped the run with a short jumper and Ole Miss never got closer than seven points again.

Key stat

South Carolina dominated inside, outscoring Ole Miss 46-32 in the paint, converting 17 of 28 layups. Ole Miss managed 11 of 27 on layups.

Up next

The regular-season schedule finishes Sunday as South Carolina hosts No. 15 Kentucky while Ole Miss visits No. 7 LSU.

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