CLEMSON — South Carolina women's basketball freshman Ashlyn Watkins scored the first dunk in program history in the Gamecocks' 85-31 rout of rival Clemson on Thursday at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The 6-foot-3 Watkins went up for the dunk on a fast break with 3:30 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Tigers called a timeout immediately afterwards, and the South Carolina bench rushed onto the court to celebrate with the freshman.

Coach Dawn Staley said she knew Watkins was capable of making the dunk, but she was surprised that she managed to do it on that play.

"She wasn't really dribbling the ball up the floor smoothly. She kind of rolled it a bit and I thought she was just gonna put it up over the rim," Staley said. "I've seen her do it a million times, but never on this level in front of me with her on our team, so that was cool."

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL:Is South Carolina women's basketball better than last year? Maryland win is promising sign

Watkins was the second-highest scorer for South Carolina (3-0) against Clemson (3-1) with a career-high 14 points behind only preseason All-SEC selection Zia Cooke. She also logged five rebounds, three steals and two blocks as the Gamecocks beat the Tigers for the 12th consecutive time.

Watkins is a Columbia native and was the No. 12 prospect in the nation coming out of Cardinal Newman High School. In her final season with the Cardinals, she averaged 20.5 points, 15.5 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game. She was named a McDonald's All-American as a senior and won the event's dunk contest.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Watch Ashlyn Watkins dunk for South Carolina women's basketball