SOUTH CAROLINA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
It wasn’t pretty, but South Carolina defended its #1 ranking with a a 78-45 win at Missouri.
Missouri entered the game with just four wins this season, and only one in the SEC. But the Tigers always seem to give South Carolina fits, especially at home, and this game was no different. South Carolina struggled making shots, especially layups, a familiar problem at Mizzou Arena.
South Carolina shot just 4-20 in the first quarter and 38 percent for the game. South Carolina was able to get the ball inside to Aliyah Boston, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, Victaria Saxton, and Laeticia Amihere, but they struggled to get the ball in the basket. Boston and Amihere struggled the most, shooting just 5-12 and 1-7 respectively. As a team, South Carolina was just 11-32 on layups.
“I thought we made poor decisions at times where we were charging into them or not making the correct pass,” Dawn Staley said.
Even as the shooting suffered, South Carolina continued to rebound and defend. South Carolina outrebounded Missouri 62-31 for the game, setting a season-high for rebounding margin and tying the third highest under Dawn Staley. South Carolina had 25 offensive rebounds and 18 second chance points.
South Carolina led just 12-7 after the first quarter, but took control in the second quarter. The Gamecocks turned defense into offense, going 9-15 from the floor, and finished the half on an 18-3 run. They held Missouri without a point for nearly six minutes during that stretch, and took a 35-17 halftime lead.
The Tigers never really challenged the Gamecocks in the second half, as the lead got as high as 35, although the poor shooting continued. The Tigers got just four points and five rebounds from leading scorer Amber Smith, who played just 22 minutes due to foul trouble.
Although South Carolina missed the 90-point mark for the first time in conference play, it still got double-figure scoring from five players, led by 14 points each from Zia Cooke and Mikiah Herbert Harrigan. Tyasha Harris added 11 points, and Boston and Saxton had ten each.
“We spread it around and do a great job of being unselfish and trying to find who’s supposed to shoot the ball,” Staley said.
Boston and Saxton also had ten rebounds. For Saxton, it was a career-high and her first career double-double, while it was Boston’s seventh double-double. Brea Beal also had a career-high 13 rebounds.
“They love to rebound,” Staley said. “That’s something that’s a little bit different than in the past when we maybe had one or two rebounders. We’ve got rebounding guards, we’ve got post players that can elevate.”
Freshman Aijha Blackwell led Missouri with 13 points (on 6-17 shooting) and six rebounds. South Carolina held Missouri to just 27.3 percent shooting, and forced 15 turnovers.
Notes:
Harris had five assists, giving her 603 for her career. She is now 12 behind Cristina Ciocan (615) for the school record. She and Ciocan are the only players in school history with 1,000 points and 600 assists. … South Carolina was plus thirty in rebounds against Arkansas (63-33). … Amihere’s only basket was a three-pointer. She finished with six points and seven rebounds. … LeLe Grissett had five points and eight rebounds. … Haley Troup, who signed with South Carolina but transferred to Missouri before playing a game, had four points, three rebounds, and two turnovers in 20 minutes. … Missouri held its “We Back Pat” game Thursday. Players wore special shooting shirts and both coaching staffs wore Pat Summitt t-shirts. Staley also had special shoes made to honor Pat Summitt and Staley’s mother, who both died of Alzheimer’s. … Announced attendance was 3,576. … South Carolina’s next game is Monday night against Mississippi State.
