Emotion, momentum and the "cherry on top" for South Carolina
Early on in the game, after an uneven start against a frisky South Florida defense, Victaria Saxton made a hustle play. The type of little moment coaches save for highlight reels to show future teams, a snippet of greatness that could have easily gone unnoticed without its follow–up. She blocked a shot and tightroped her way through the corner to save the possession, triggering to Kierra Fletcher. The starting point guard scored through contact, tying the game at 10-10 going into the first media timeout and letting out a violent scream in the process.
“I try to keep my composure most of the time,” Fletcher joked after the game. “But I felt like it was a big play, an energizing play, so sometimes I just have to let out a little bit of emotion. It was fun.”
Fletcher knew her team needed a boost, and delivered it as only a floor general really can. Eventually the Gamecocks pulled away from No. 8 seed South Florida in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, winning 76-45 to set up a Sweet 16 matchup against either Oklahoma or UCLA on Saturday in Greenville.
On a day chalked full of emotions for the Gamecocks with the usual pressure-cooker NCAA Tournament environment combined with the seniors playing at Colonial Life Arena for the final time, South Carolina (34-0) needed to lock in. The afternoon required “compartmentalizing” as Aliyah Boston put it, something her and her teammates have had plenty of practice with as it tries to shut out the distractions of chasing down an undefeated season.
But every so often, even the most experienced and decorated NCAA Tournament team in the country needs a boost. Basketball equivalents of an Espresso shot, brief blips within a game to lift the bench, bring the 10,335 fans in the building into the game and keep South Florida (27-7) from ever establishing a foothold on things.
One of those moments came courtesy of Zia Cooke, who scored her second-highest career point total in an NCAA Tournament game (21). Early in the game with South Florida on an 8-1 run and her team staring back at just one made field goal over the last four minutes, she buried a deep triple to break the funk and let out a yelp herself.
“I think it kind of gave us some momentum,” Cooke said. “Just to be able to take a deep breath and know that it’s okay, we’re going to be good.”
Cooke was correct, her team was going to be good. Very good, in fact.
Good enough for Dawn Staley to empty her bench at the end of regulation for the second consecutive game. When Olivia Thompson checked in with just over two minutes remaining, everyone in the building had the same sense of occasion. From the upper reaches of fans sitting near those championship banners hanging from the ceiling — a collection the Gamecocks are hoping to deposit another one into in two weeks — to right there on South Carolina’s bench, they knew this was likely to be Thompson’s final career action at Colonial Life Arena.
Thompson started her career as a walk-on, battled through a pandemic that cut her freshman season short, eventually earned a full scholarship and has been around for this entire four-year stretch South Carolina is now 126-8 in.
She uncorked a 3-pointer, the trademark arrow in her quiver. Next thing she knew, she saw delirious teammates on the bench off to her right. Fletcher and Cooke were on their feet before the ball even hit the net. Raven Johnson and Bree Hall were jumping up and down with each other Aliyah Boston and Kamilla Cardoso swung their towels around in celebration.
South Carolina had its “cherry on top” as Brea Beal put it for the day, the weekend and the home season.
“Of course I was,” Thompson said post-game when asked if she was thinking about getting one last Colonial Life Arena memory. “But I wasn’t really banking on it. It was really awesome that it happened, and I was just glad that I made the most of the moment.”
Moments defined the day.
And in the process, ensured South Carolina will get a chance to make more.