South Carolina sprinted out to a fast start and kept Georgia at arm’s length the rest of the game, winning 88-53 on a record-setting day for senior Tyasha Harris.
South Carolina won the opening toss, but Zia Cooke missed a short shot, and Jenna Staiti got behind Aliyah Boston for a layup on the other end. After that, it was all South Carolina.
The Gamecocks scored fourteen straight points, thanks in large part to their defense. They forced the Lady Bulldogs into seven consecutive misses and three turnovers. The Lady Bulldogs finally scored on a putback, but the Gamecocks continued to stretch their lead as part of a 26-4 run. By the end of the quarter, the Gamecocks led 28-8, had shot 65 percent from the floor, held the Lady Bulldogs to 23.1 percent shooting, and forced seven turnovers.
”You can’t let a team like South Carolina get up on you like that,” Joni Taylor said. “At one point they were up 16-4 and they were just too good offensively to try to stop them and get yourselves out of that hole.”
Georgia played much better beginning with the second quarter, when they shot 52.9 percent from the floor. But they barely made a dent in South Carolina’s lead. South Carolina led by 17 at halftime, and then got a couple of second half runs to put the game out of reach. An 8-0 run midway through the third gave South Carolina a 26 point lead. Then the Gamecocks started the fourth on a 14-2 run to get the lead to 30. They outscored the Lady Bulldogs 23-6 in the fourth quarter, as both teams emptied the bench.
“Our bench hasn’t been as sharp as it normally is,” Dawn Staley said. “I thought they ended the game extremely well. This is something we can watch a lot of film on and boost their confidence.”
Although there were some sloppy stretches, South Carolina largely avoided any sort of letdown following the emotional win over Mississippi State. They did what they had to do to beat Georgia, pushing tempo, rebounding, and playing aggressive defense.
“We like to do our defense into offense,” Harris said. “We get out and run, that’s what we do. We like transition offense.”
For the game, South Carolina shot 60.3 percent and held Georgia to 32.4 percent. South Carolina got 21 points off 17 Georgia turnovers, and 20 fast break points. South Carolina was also plus-10 rebounding, and had more second chance points despite the difference in shooting percentages.
Harris was aggressive from the start, with nine points in the first quarter. She became more of a distributor in the second and third quarters, and that was where she made her mark. In a 90-second stretch midway through the third, Harris fed Boston for a layup to tie Cristina Ciocan for the South Carolina career assist record. A couple of possessions later she found Mikiah Herbert Harrigan open in the lane for another basket. That was Harris’ 616th career assist, giving her the record.
“I’m kind of at a loss for words,” Harris said. “I didn’t come in thinking I would get the record. I don’t know what to say. It’s a great record to get. I always like passing the ball. That’s what I pride myself on, a little bit too much, I guess you could say sometimes, but it’s great.”
“I think Ty’s in a really good place now,” Staley said. “A place in which she sees how much better we are when she’s aggressive shooting the ball, attacking the basket, getting her teammates involved. She’s found a happy medium with both.”
Boston led all scorers with 15 points, and added six rebounds and four steals. But she got her points in an unusual way - by making jump shots. Georgia was willing to leave Boston open on high pick and rolls, and Boston made them pay by going 4-5 on jump shots (one was banked in, but it still counts).
“It’s what we worked on,” Staley said. “Aliyah has given our coaching staff real comfort in knowing she can step outside the paint and shoot. We don’t want her to fall in love with it, but certainly at the rate that she was shooting and being efficient, we’re going to go back to it and keep working in practice and hopefully we can give her some reprieve from getting beat up in the paint all the time.”
Destanni Henderson added 14 points, six assists, and six rebounds. LeLe Grissett had 11 points, and Herbert Harrigan had 10.
News of the the death of Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash broke shortly before tipoff, with news that his daughter was also onboard coming out during the game. Both coaches found out then, but did not tell their players until after the game. Both Staley and Taylor praised Bryant for his advocacy for women’s basketball.
“It’s horrific,” Staley said. “Since he retired he’d dedicated his life to his little girls and her career in basketball. It’s unfortunate that we don’t get to see him coach any more, to see him impact girls lives. He just talked about WNBA players being able to play in the NBA. We need more people like Kobe Bryant sticking up for women’s basketball. He did it. He did it at the highest level. We’re prayerful. Godspeed to his family.”
“He means so much not only to the game of basketball but to the game of women’s basketball,” Taylor said, her eyes watering. “He was a fan. He was at the Final Four. His daughters played. He supported college basketball, WNBA, all levels. He was a champion for us and my heart goes out to his family and everyone.
“It’s tough to hear, and you take some time to process. I don’t know him but from everything that I’ve watched and seen he lived his life to the fullest.”
Notes:
Georgia held a blackout, and the Lady Bulldogs wore black uniforms to go along with the promotion. As a result, South Carolina wore their seldom-used garnet uniforms to create a color-on-color game. … Harris finished the game with seven assists. It was the seventh time this season she has had seven assists, her season-high. Harris checked out with 1:07 left in the third quarter and did not play in the fourth. … Victaria Saxton, who was questionable with a sprained ankle, played and had six points, three rebounds, and three blocks. The Rome, GA, native had her own blue-clad cheering section. … Stephanie Paul had 13 points for Georgia, and Gabby Connally 11 points and nine assists. … Announced attendance was 6,047, and was 40-50 percent Gamecock fans. It was the largest crowd at Stegeman Coliseum for a Lady Bulldogs game since the 2013-14 season (vs Tennessee), not including games attended by Clarke Country School District elementary schools.
… South Carolina’s next game is Thursday at Ole Miss.
