WBB: #21 Tennessee tops #2 South Carolina
#2 South Carolina suffered its first SEC loss in almost two years, falling 75-67 at #21 Tennessee.
Everything was going South Carolina’s way in the second quarter and the Gamecocks led by 12 at halftime. South Carolina was plus-eight rebounding and plus-one on turnovers. South Carolina’s depth was on full display as nine Gamecocks played and eight scored. Destanni Henderson had ten points as Tennessee backed off and dared her to shoot.
The lead was 15 after Henderson’s third three-pointer made the score 44-29 midway through the third quarter. Then South Carolina went cold, and Rennia Davis got hot. South Carolina missed seven of eight shots while Davis, who was scoreless in the first half, scored nine points during a 22-6 run. Tennessee finally retook the lead on a layup by Jordan Horston with a minute left in the third quarter.
It wasn’t until then that the Gamecocks seemed to remember they had Aliyah Boston at their disposal. She nailed a pick-and-pop jumper to give the Gamecocks a 54-53 lead going into the fourth, and then scored twice early in the fourth as South Carolina took a four-point lead. But she only scored off a pair of free throws the rest of the game, and despite 17 points and 16 rebounds, it was clear South Carolina didn’t do enough to get her the ball.
“We couldn’t make reads,” Dawn Staley said. “We tried to get the ball in to Aliyah. We got it to her in the high post, but we couldn’t get it to her in the low post.”
Davis hit a three to tie the game at 62, and then Tennessee took the lead on a Jordan Walker layup when South Carolina was slow getting back on defense. That sparked a 9-0 Tennessee run that put the Lady Vols up six. South Carolina cut the lead back down to three, but then Horston hit a tough baseline layup. Davis made four free throws to ice the game. She finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds, going 10-10 from the line, motivated by something Kellie Harper said at halftime.
“She said we were playing soft and I took it personal,” Davis said. “I wasn’t doing enough for the team.”
“She put us back on our heels. She got momentum and did a little bit of everything,” Staley said. “She willed them to a win.”
South Carolina and Tennessee are similar teams: big and physical squads who are the two best rebounding teams in the SEC, but who struggle with turnovers. It figured that the team with more rebounds and fewer turnovers would win. But both teams had 40 rebounds and 13 turnovers (and 17 points off turnovers), with 40 points in the paint. The game came down to offensive execution, which has been South Carolina’s weak spot recently.
Tennessee shot 43% from the floor compared to 38% for South Carolina. Tennessee was able to get the ball to Davis and Rae Burrell (19 points) when it needed shots. South Carolina couldn’t do the same with Boston, and found itself settling for shots by freshman Eniya Russell instead. Tennessee also had a 10-3 edge in fast break points, as South Carolina was frequently slow getting back.
“They got out in transition off our bad shots and turnovers. They came downhill on us and they scored,” Staley said. “You’ve got to think and you’ve got to be able to execute.”
Notes:
Henderson finished with 15 points and six assists. She played all 40 minutes, which Staley said contributed to her six turnovers, with four coming in the second half. … Zia Cooke also scored 15 points, but battled through a miserable shooting performance, going 6-22 and 0-4 from three despite getting frequent open looks. … Brea Beal scored South Carolina’s first four points, but did not score again and played just 15 minutes. … The loss snapped South Carolina’s 31-game SEC winning streak, which was tied for the second-longest in league history. … South Carolina is still in first place in the SEC at 12-1. Texas A&M is 10-1. The Aggies’ game Thursday night was postponed due to the severe winter weather in College Station. … South Carolina’s next game is Sunday against Kentucky.
