WBB: #1 South Carolina cools South Dakota

Against NC State, South Carolina struggled to get the ball inside and it was clear that was a point of emphasis against South Dakota. South Carolina’s first five possessions all ended with a shot at the rim. Of South Carolina’s 17 first quarter points, 12 came in the paint while the other five were free throws off fouls drawn in the paint. Pounding the ball inside early clearly paid off.

Aliyah Boston, of all people, hit a long jumper to start the second quarter. South Dakota tried different looks on defense to shore up the interior defense, but Destiny Littleton and Destanni Henderson hit open threes and South Carolina had the balance it wanted on offense.

“Life is different playing against South Carolina than any other team in the country,” South Dakota coach Dawn Plutzuweit said. “When they impose their will there’s not a whole lot that you can do about it.”

The Gamecocks led by 15 at halftime. The Coyotes cut into the lead several times during the third quarter, but each time Henderson answered with a three. A three-point play by Boston put the Gamecocks up 20 late in the third quarter, a familiar position. In each of the last two seasons, the Gamecocks took a 20-point lead late in the third quarter, only to coast home, and it almost cost them last year when the Coyotes pulled within seven. But this time the Gamecocks finished the job.

Kamilla Cardoso hit a cutting Boston for a layup. After a Chloe Lamb basket, Cardoso drew a foul and made a free throw to give South Carolina a 21-point lead going into the fourth. South Carolina once again pounded the ball inside, getting six points from Cardoso before a three from Bree Hall capped a 12-0 run to nearly double up South Dakota, 66-34.

Henderson, who was the MVP of the tournament in Sioux Falls last season, led South Carolina with 15 points and hit 4-5 from three. She also had five rebounds and a team-high five assists. As a team, South Carolina had 18 assists on 28 baskets, a big improvement on the nine assists on 25 baskets against NC State.

“We got good ball movement,” Dawn Staley said. “We got people in positions where they are pretty darn good, what is their strength. “

“The ball will find who needs to shoot it,” Henderson said. “I felt like that’s what I did tonight.”

However, South Carolina still committed 20 turnovers, giving the Gamecocks 34 through two games.

“Let’s hope our turnovers aren’t something that becomes an epidemic,” Staley said. “It’s something that we dealt with all last year. I hope we can clean up our offense.”

Despite the turnovers, South Carolina’s defense shut down South Dakota. The Coyotes shot just 25% from the floor and 1-13 from three. It didn’t help that South Dakota’s leading scorer Hannah Sjerven missed most of the first half with foul trouble, but only Live Korngable who had 18 of the Coyotes 24 first half points, got anything going.

“One of our non-negotiables was pressure to disrupt,” Staley said. “I thought we did a really good job of making them second guess or play a little bit faster than they want to play.

After Henderson, South Carolina got balanced production from a number of players. Zia Cooke had 10 points. Boston had nine points, five rebounds, and four blocks in just 16 minutes. Cardoso had nine points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Brea Beal had eight rebounds, Victaria Saxton had six points, and Littleton had five. South Carolina finished with a 28-2 advantage in bench points.

“We got some good, bad, some ugly production from the bench. We have to be better. There shouldn’t be an ugly part, and there really shouldn’t be a bad part,” Staley said. “It’s a good start but we have to be better.”

Freshman Johnson injured her left knee midway through the first quarter. She was playing defense and it appeared her right foot clipped a Coyote’s foot. That caused her to take an awkward step and her left knee buckled. Johnson fell to the court and screamed in pain. Johnson returned to the bench wearing a large brace/wrap on her left leg.

“I really haven’t had time to talk to our medical staff so we’re going to wait until she can be seen when we get back,” Staley said.

Johnson was the second-ranked overall recruit and a national high school player of the year. She was expected to see significant playing time this season backing up Henderson. With Johnson out, Littleton and sophomore Eniya Russell got extra playing time.

Notes:

Freshman Saniya Rivers made the trip but did not play due to an illness. … Bree Hall made her first career basket when she hit a corner three right before halftime. …Sania Feagin got her first basket on a nice play inside late in the fourth quarter. … South Carolina had a 49-25 rebounding advantage. … Only four Coyotes scored. Korngable finished with 24 points. Chloe Lamb had 10. Sjerven had five, and Grace Larkins had two points. … South Carolina’s next game is the home opener against Clemson.