In one of its most tightly contested games of the season, South Carolina women's basketball used a big fourth quarter to survive a scare and beat Tennessee 66-55 on Thursday in Knoxville, Tennessee.

After a low-scoring first half, the No. 1 Gamecocks (24-0, 11-0 SEC) woke up their offense, outpacing the Lady Vols (15-9, 8-4) in the second half. With the game tied up heading into the fourth quarter, South Carolina outscored Tennessee 18-7 to close out the victory.

"You get to halftime and you have to make some adjustments," South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. "Sometimes our players don't get what's happening out there and they need a break in the play to figure it out. I thought we did a great job rebounding the ball a lot better and beating them to the ball."

In her return after missing two games, senior center Kamilla Cardoso led the Gamecocks with 18 points and added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Sophomore forward Ashlyn Watkins contributed a double-double off the bench with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

"(Cardoso) was dominant," Staley said. "We don't win the game without Kamilla tonight. I thought she did a great job establishing herself early in transition."

Tennessee star forward Rickea Jackson led the Lady Vols with 19 points.

Before the game, South Carolina was named the No. 1 overall seed in the first NCAA top 16 reveal of the season.

South Carolina got off to one of its worst starts of the season, turning the ball over five times in the first quarter, which turned into eight points for Tennessee. Sophomore forward Chloe Kitts had four of the turnovers.

The Gamecocks snatched the lead at the end of the first quarter, however, with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from MiLaysia Fulwiley to make the score 15-14.

South Carolina didn't take advantage of the momentum in the second half. It shot just 20% from the field and scored 10 points, entering halftime trailing 28-25. The Gamecocks' 25 points were its lowest in the first half all season.

Kamilla Cardoso returns to starting lineup

Cardoso returned after missing two consecutive games while playing with Team Brazil in an Olympic qualifying event. Cardoso jumped straight into the starting lineup, providing 14 points and 10 rebounds in her return.

Cardoso's third quarter was key in South Carolina's win. She scored six points quickly in the third quarter, helping spark the Gamecocks' stagnant offense.

"We definitely felt Kamilla's presence tonight," Watkins said. "In fast breaks she runs the floor, we hit her, she scores. Definitely missed that."

South Carolina turns around bad first half offense

The biggest difference in the game was the Gamecocks' offensive turnaround from the first half to the third quarter. South Carolina's 25 first-half points were a season low, and the offense, which entered the game second in the nation in field goal percentage at 51.2%, made just 33% of its shots.

"They were locked in," Staley said about Tennessee's defense. "They made it really hard for us to catch it. They made it hard for us to go deeper into our offense. They rattled us."

The third quarter brought a major shift towards normalcy for South Carolina. It made more field goals in the quarter (11) than the entire first half (10) and scored just two fewer points than they had entering halftime.

In the fourth quarter, after the teams entered tied at 48-48, the Gamecocks outscored the Lady Vols 18-7 to secure the victory. They ended the game shooting 40% from the field after making baskets at a 45% clip after the break.

Rickea Jackson torches South Carolina early

South Carolina couldn't find a way to slow down Jackson. Tennessee's leading scorer torched South Carolina's defense, which leads the SEC while allowing 54.3 points per game, scoring 19 points.

"I thought we did as well as we could against Rickea," Staley said. "I thought we did a good job of just controlling the paint with their bigs. It was their guard play and posting up guards that gave us some issues."

Jackson tallied 13 points in the first half alone to lead all scorers. Her second half, however, was not nearly as productive as she recorded just six points.

Jackson's two halves were indicative of the game as a whole − as she slowed down against South Carolina's defense, Tennessee cooled off too.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: South Carolina women's basketball survives scare from Tennessee