No. 1 South Carolina women lay historic beatdown on No. 16 Southern in first round

Furthermore, Edwards is the first player in program history to score 25 or more points on at least 70 percent shooting in an NCAA Tournament game, further highlighting the team's efficiency.

She scored the first two baskets of the game for the Gamecocks and set the tone from the opening tip. It was not just the sophomore who got in on the fun, though, as senior guard Ta'Niya Latson poured in 17 points, while freshman guard Agot Makeer (16 points), senior center Madina Okot (15 points) and junior guard Tessa Johnson (14 points, 10 rebounds) added to the balanced scoring.

South Carolina led by as many as 73 and forced 20 turnovers from the Jaguars, completely dominating the first-round contest as you would expect a top seed to do. The margin of victory was historic, but the fact that South Carolina came out with a vengeance should not be a surprise.

Not only is this the nation's fourth-ranked scoring offense (86.3 PPG), but the Gamecocks are coming off a loss to fellow No. 1 seed Texas in the SEC Tournament championship game. They were expected to cruise in the first round, but that loss only added some fuel to one of the country's best teams.

South Carolina will either face the eight-seed Clemson or nine-seed USC in the second round. A potential Sweet 16 rematch against the four-seed Oklahoma, which handed the Gamecocks their only conference loss during the regular season, could be a challenge. However, anything short of a Final Four berth seems unlikely for this South Carolina group.

They may have had a hiccup in the SEC title game, but they quickly put that behind them with a historic first-round performance against Southern.