#8 NC State upset #1 South Carolina 54-46, handing the Gamecocks their first loss in over a year.

Midway through the second quarter, South Carolina led 16-11. The gamecocks weren’t making shots, but they had locked down the Wolfpack defensively and were at least getting good looks at the basket. But those missed shots got frustrating, and the Gamecocks lost their focus.

They started taking rushed, one-one-one shots. The Gamecocks missed 14 consecutive shots and began to break down defensively. That let the Wolfpack off the mat, and NC State put together a 10-0 run and took a 21-20 halftime lead. The Gamecocks finished the quarter just 2-19, 10.5%.

“I told our team I could be blindfolded with defense and shoot 10%,” Dawn Staley said. “We got where we wanted to go, we just took bad shots. They were shots that I didn’t even know they were shots.”

The second half went back and forth, and it stayed a one possession game most of the way. NC State led by four once in the third quarter and then pulled away in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. South Carolina forced a loose ball, but NC State’s Elissa Cunane was able to control it, drawing a foul. She made both free throws to go up 48-44 with a minute left.

Zia Cooke answered with a steal and layup. After a timeout and against the shot clock, Kayla Jones, who led the Wolfpack with 16 points, hit a three to give the Wolfpack its largest lead of the game, 51-46. The Gamecocks seemed unsure what they wanted to do next, and the possession ended with a charge by LeLe Grissett, her fifth foul. NC State then made its free throws to secure the win.

“I’ve been the worst critic of our defense this year,” NC State’s Wes Moore said. “That’s what they told me when I went in the locker room: ‘We played defense!’”

South Carolina overcame missed layups and free throws in a pair of wins last weekend, but NC State was able to take advantage of the mistakes. Both teams shot less than 30% from the floor, but NC State was 10-12 from the line, while South Carolina was just 4-11. South Carolina held NC State to 4-17 shooting from three, about half its season average, but because of missed layups was outscored 30-28 in the paint.

“We just had no flow,” Staley said. “We were a team that I’ve never seen before. I’ve never coached a team that performed that way. It was pickup basketball. I’m not used to it.”

“I think we probably put basketball back a few years,” she added. “They won the battle of some bad basketball.”

Aliyah Boston and Laeticia Amihere played strong defense on Cunane, NC State’s national player of the year candidate. Cunane had just two points on 0-7 shooting in the first half, and finished the game 3-13 from the floor. But Cunane also went 8-8 from the line, and finished with 14 points and six rebounds.

“Elissa in the second half made some big baskets for us,” Moore said. “Boston was a tough matchup.”

Amihere had a strong game, with 11 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, two blocks and two assists, but shot just 5-16. And Boston struggled, continuing issues that came up in Sioux Falls. She had nine points and nine rebounds, but was just 4-14 from the floor and did not attempt a free throw. She didn’t seem to play strong around the rim and left a lot of shots short.

“They came in every time the ball entered the post,” Boston said. “I think we needed to hit some outside shots or I needed to get deeper in the post so I can go straight up.

South Carolina struggled with production from the backcourt. Cooke tied Amihere for the team-high with 11 points, but she also left a lot of shots short, going 4-18. Destanni Henderson was just 1-13 shooting, although she had seven rebounds and six assists. Brea Beal had five points and four rebounds, while Destiny Littleton, Eniya Russell, and Oliva Thompson were all scoreless.

“We can’t rely on just being talented,” Staley said. “That talent has to play as a cohesive unit and we didn’t do that tonight.”

Staley continued to rip into the Gamecocks.

“Uncoachable. Untamable, just not listening,” she said. “It was just selfish play that we’re going to fix between now and Sunday.”

Notes:

South Carolina’s last loss was November 28, 2019, against Indiana, a streak of 29 games. … South Carolina was held below 50 points for the first time since 2013. … NC State played without forward Jada Boyd. … Grissett scored eight points, but was 0-4 from the line before fouling out. … South Carolina’s next game is Sunday at #23 Iowa State.