COLUMBIA − In a game much closer than anticipated, South Carolina women's basketball used a big third quarter and outlasted Georgia 70-56 on Sunday at Colonial Life Arena.

With the win, the No. 1 Gamecocks (25-0, 12-0 SEC) set a new conference record with 43 consecutive SEC regular season victories, breaking Tennessee's old mark. South Carolina hasn't lost a regular season game since falling 70-69 in its SEC opener against Missouri on Dec. 30, 2021, in Columbia, Missouri.

Georgia took a shocking 35-28 lead into halftime.

It took much longer than expected for South Carolina to take control of the game. Georgia (11-14, 2-10), who entered the game tied for last in the SEC, were the better team for the first half, and held their own until an 8-1 scoring run halfway through the third quarter.

The Gamecocks used a 22-9 third quarter to pull away, then solidified the win in the fourth quarter. Senior center Kamilla Cardoso scored 16 points to lead South Carolina, senior guard Te-Hina Paopao added 15 points and sophomore forward Chloe Kitts finished with 12 points.

The Bulldogs forced six Gamecock turnovers in the second quarter and forced a 4:29 scoring drought, going on a 9-0 run to close the half.

The Bulldogs also outrebounded the Gamecocks 17-14 in the first half, despite South Carolina grabbing 12.8 more boards per game than their opponents. Although South Carolina had a height advantage with 6-foot-7 senior center Kamilla Cardoso, who was five inches taller than any of Georgia's starters, the Gamecocks were outscored 22-8 in the paint in the first half.

In the first quarter, South Carolina jumped to an early lead, but lackadaisical effort to close the period allowed Georgia on an 11-2 run to tie the game up. The Gamecocks turned the ball over four times in the first quarter, then gave it away twice more to start the second quarter and fell behind 23-17.

Chloe Kitts' third quarter puts South Carolina ahead

After a relatively quiet first half, Kitts was spectacular in the third quarter, scoring eight points and helping South Carolina claw out of its deficit. Kitts played the entire quarter after scoring just two points in nine first-half minutes.

Kitts battled through contact to score multiple layups, including one where she was near parallel to the ground while shooting. Alongside Cardoso, the Gamecocks' starting forwards contributed 13 of 22 third quarter points.

Kitts continued providing energy into the fourth quarter, scoring two points and grabbing four rebounds. She finished with 15 points and seven boards.

Javyn Nicholson breaks out against Gamecocks

Georgia was able to battle against South Carolina as long as it did thanks to forward Javyn Nicholson, who scored a season-high 27 points.

Nicholson proved to be nearly unguardable for most of the game. She entered the game as Georgia's leading scorer with 15.5 points and found herself as the Bulldogs' leading scoring option all game.

Te-Hina Paopao finds 3-point stroke

Paopao went without a 3-pointer against Tennessee on Thursday, the first time all season she didn't have one in a game.

She found her shot again Sunday, making two from beyond the arc in the first quarter. In the fourth, as South Carolina started to pull away, Paopao hit two more 3-pointers to give the Gamecocks their first double-digit lead and force Georgia to take its last timeout.

Paopao finished 5-of-11 from 3-point range, tying her season high against UConn on Feb. 11.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: South Carolina basketball outlasts Georgia after trailing at halftime