SOUTH CAROLINA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
The Gamecocks’ offensive explosion continued with a 93-57 win at Vanderbilt.
South Carolina got out to a quick 9-0 start, and then an 8-0 run soon followed, giving South Carolina a 21-8 lead. But Vanderbilt went to a zone defense, and South Carolina struggled against it. They got good looks, but were rushing shots and throwing risky passes, and Vanderbilt was able to get some momentum.
A 15-4 Commodore run cut the Gamecock lead to 27-24 with a little over three minutes left in the second quarter, and they had all the momentum.
“This is a new environment, so sometimes it takes a little while to adjust,” Dawn Staley said. “We knew Vandy would have a run in them.”
That’s when Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, who had been frustrated against the zone, provided the spark the Gamecocks needed. She drained a three-pointer and then forced a turnover. She drew a foul, and made 1-2 free throws (the miss was rebounded by Victaria Saxton, who also was fouled and made 1-2 free throws). Then Herbert Harrigan forced a Commodore miss that led to a three-point play by Saxton, Zia Cooke was fouled on a three-pointer, making all three free throws, and the rout was back on.
“We got a unit that was used to playing together on the floor and they got control of the game,” Staley said. “We hit a couple of threes and that opened the game up and we could breathe a little easier after that.”
The third quarter began the same way. Not content with the 14-point halftime lead, South Carolina continued to shoot lights out. Brea Beal and Aliyah Boston made layups, and Cooke had a three-point play and a three-pointer. The ten unanswered points in the first two minutes of the half capped a dominating stretch that turned a tight game into a laugher. In total, it was a 21-point, 6:25 run that turned a 27-24 lead into a 48-24 rout.
“We wanted to play fast,” Staley said. “We wanted to make sure that we got shots at the basket and we get up and down the floor and get some easy buckets. Mainly our defense was our key.”
South Carolina scored at least 90 points for the fourth time in four SEC games this season, and South Carolina is averaging 94 points per conference game. The school record was three 90 point games, set across 14 games and including a double-overtime game in 2003. South Carolina shot 75 percent in the third quarter and 51 percent for the game, even after shooting just 39 percent in the first quarter.
“We’re just running,” said Tyasha Harris, who had 10 points, six assists, and four rebounds. “We know the games are full of runs, and we try to create offense from our defense.”
Cooke led all scorers with 17 points, and needed just ten shots to do it, going 6-7 from the free throw line. Herbert Harrigan added 15 points, four rebounds and two blocks, and five Gamecocks reached double figures.
While South Carolina was beating Arkansas and Vanderbilt, #1 UConn lost to #6 Baylor Thursday. On Friday, #2 Oregon lost at Arizona State. The unranked Sun Devils followed that up with a win over #3 and previously unbeaten Oregon State Sunday. That puts #4 South Carolina in line to move up to the top spot if voters simply move up the next team. But the way this season has gone and with so many teams tightly grouped, there is no telling what will happen.
Notes:
The overall record for 90-point games in a season is nine. South Carolina already has seven. ... Harris now has 598 career assists and passed Mindy Ballou for second place in career assists in school history. Cristina Ciocan is in first place with 615 assists. … Elysa Wesolek and Olivia Thompson got in the game late. Thompson missed a pair of threes, but Wesolek scored a basket and grabbed two rebounds. It was her first points since the Clemson game. … South Carolina went 18-24 from the foul line. Vanderbilt was just 8-11. Vanderbilt shot just 34 percent, and South Carolina blocked 11 shots. Boston and LeLe Grissett each blocked three. … Boston had 10 points and eight rebounds. She was a focal point early on but rushed shots against the Vanderbilt zone. … South Carolina’s next game is Thursday at Missouri.
