#1 South Carolina got off to a slow start but pulled away from Missouri in the second half for a 77-62 win.
At the start of the game the Connecticut hangover looked very real for South Carolina. Missouri shot 62% from the floor in the first quarter while shooting just 4-15. Only 8-11 shooting from the free throw line kept South Carolina in the game, down four.
The Gamecocks tied the game at halftime, but the Tigers were still shooting 56%, compared to 38% for the Gamecocks. Every time the Gamecocks seemed ready to get a little separation, a defensive lapse would follow and the Tigers would hit a shot to get back in it.
“I don’t think we were fatigued,” Dawn Staley said. “I think we ran up against a good Missouri team. Missouri was able to do what they did against most teams in this league.”
Destanni Henderson provided the spark South Carolina needed to pull away. Missouri had cut a five-point South Carolina lead to one. Henderson made a jumper, and then both teams went scoreless for the next couple minutes. Henderson broke out of the funk with a baseline drive for the basket and foul. She missed the free throw, but Aliyah Boston grabbed the offensive rebound. She posted up and then kicked out to Henderson for a three. The five-point possession sparked an 11-2 run that put South Carolina up 56-46. Henderson said she knew someone needed to step up with a big shot to provide a lift.
“For sure,” she said. “I felt like we needed to come out with a better start in the second half and make baskets.”
That spark carried over to the defensive end of the court. South Carolina held Missouri to just 27% shooting in the second half and just 3-11 from three. South Carolina mixed in some full-court press and was able to push the tempo more and get easy shots.
“In the third quarter we got that disruption in the half court,” Dawn Staley said. “We got them to play a little bit quicker.”
“They really turned up their defensive intensity,” Robin Pingeton said. “They guarded hard. They’ve got great rim protectors.”
South Carolina pulled away in the fourth quarter behind Boston and Zia Cooke. Boston began the fourth with a pair of free throws and then blocked two shots on a single Missouri possession. She finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks, and did a good job facilitating the offense for her teammates. Cooke scored seven straight points for the Gamecocks to put the game out of reach. After not being able to throw the ball in the ocean in the first half (1-7), Cooke scored eight of her game-high 15 in the fourth quarter on 3-3 shooting and 2-3 from the line.
“We came out in the third quarter and ran some stuff for her,” Staley said. “We didn’t want her to press, and that got her going.”
South Carolina led by as much as 21 in the fourth before both teams emptied their benches. LaDazhia Williams, Missouri’s leading scorer and a former Gamecock, scored 12 points but was hampered by foul trouble. Shug Dickson led Missouri with 15, and another one-time Gamecock, Haley Troup, had four points and three rebounds.
Notes:
South Carolina used a new pregame hype video with former players announcing current starters. Tina Roy introduced the video, then Allisha Gray announced Brea Beal, Khadijah Sessions introduced Destanni Henderson, Tyasha Harris and Mikiah Herbert Harrigan announced Victaria Saxton, A'ja Wilson introduced Aliyah Boston, and Tiffany Mitchell announced Zia Cooke. La'Keisha Sutton introduced the coaching staff, and Alaina Coates introduced "My munchkin, Dawn Staley."... South Carolina committed just eight turnovers. … All 11 Gamecocks played. … LeLe Grissett played well off the bench, scoring nine points. She hit her first career three-pointer in the second quarter. She had only attempted three in her career before Thursday. “Y’all better watch out. I ain’t coming to play no more,” she joked. “I normally pass first but they were sagging, so why not.” … Missouri’s last five SEC losses came by a total of 20 points. The 15 point loss Thursday tied a 74-59 loss to Alabama as the worst conference loss of the season. … South Carolina’s next game is Sunday against LSU.
