South Carolina dominated the first half defensively and then held off a late charge to beat Florida 62-50.
South Carolina held Florida to three points in the first quarter, tying a season low, and 13 points in the first half, a new season low for any half. South Carolina led by 20 at halftime, and 28 midway through the third quarter.
The Gators had come back from deficits before, and when Aliyah Boston got a rest and the Gamecocks turned to the second unit, the Gators made their move. They went on an 11-1 run late in the third quarter and shot 52.9% in the frame to trim the Gamecock lead to 48-32. Kiara Smith, Florida’s leading scorer, had 12 of her 22 in the quarter. She made a key adjustment, pulling up for jumpers off screens instead of trying to drive into the heart of the Gamecock defense (Florida was 3-17 on layups in the first half). She made 6-6 in the third, and was just 4-16 the rest of the game.
Florida got a three-point play to cut the deficit to 13 to start the fourth, so South Carolina turned to Aliyah Boston. She made a pair of free throws, blocked a layup attempt by Smith, grabbed a couple of rebounds and started a fast break that ended in a three by Zia Cooke, who had 11 points. Boston finished with 13 points and a season-high 19 rebounds for her 14th consecutive double-double. Boston had seven rebounds in the fourth quarter, and added two assists and three blocks while bringing the ball up against Florida’s press.
After four games in a row keeping turnovers under control, South Carolina had major issues against Florida, committing 21 turnovers, including seven in the fourth quarter. South Carolina didn’t allow any points off its ten first half turnovers, but Florida got eleven points off in the second half. There was the usual mix of miscommunications, bad bounces, and carelessness.
South Carolina had 12 points off 11 Florida turnovers, and shot just 35.7% from the floor.
Notes:
Zippy Broughton made a layup with 13 seconds left that lifted Florida’s shooting percentage from 29.7% to 30.8%, ending the Gamecocks’ streak of four games in a row holding opponents under 30%. … Florida missed its first 12 shots of the game. … Cooke scored the first four points of the game, equally her scoring output from each of her last two games. … Freshman Sania Feagin was pressed into duty late in the first half because of foul trouble, and responded with four points and two rebounds in three minutes. … Brea Beal had nine rebounds. … South Carolina has won 14 straight over Florida. … Announced attendance was 5,319. It was Florida’s largest home crowd of the season and largest in more than 20 years. … South Carolina’s next game is Thursday against Alabama.
