South Carolina bounced back from its first conference loss with a convincing 76-55 win over #17 Kentucky.

The game started slowly for both teams. South Carolina had already missed two free throws and four layups by the time Zia Cooke finally sank a pair of free throws to put the Gamecock on the board with 7:30 left in the first quarter.

That was pretty much the story of the first half for South Carolina. They did everything right - except put the ball through the basket. South Carolina only led 34-30 at halftime despite holding a 31-19 rebounding edge, shooting 18 free throws against two for Kentucky, and holding Rhyne Howard to six points on 2-4 shooting. But South Carolina shot just 11-36 and was 10-18 from the line and 4-18 on layups.

All the Gamecocks had to do was make some baskets and the game would be theirs.

LeLe Grissett posted up Howard and scored to start the third. Then Destanni Henderson hit a jumper in the lane. Kyra Elzy called a quick timeout, sensing the momentum building, but it didn’t work. Tatyana Wyatt scored, but Victoria Saxton and Zia Cooke made back-to-back layups, with Cooke converting a three-point play. That pushed the lead to eleven. It stayed between nine and eleven until the final two minutes of the third. Cooke converted another three-point play and then fed Henderson for a fast break layup. After a Kentucky basket, Cooke drilled a three as the quarter expired. Striking a pose as the horn sounded, she had her swagger back after a tough week.

“I wanted to keep everything up and keep my mind clear,” Cooke said. “I wouldn’t say (I had to) regain confidence. It was a bummer.”

It was a much-needed breakout game for Cooke, who shot under 30% in the last two games. Cooke had a game-high 21 points on 7-17 shooting. She also had five rebounds and two assists while showing the hot streaks that have made her so tough to guard.

“Tonight was perfect. The energy, the effort. The willingness to not be denied and take the ball to the basket and be fouled,” Dawn Staley said. “Today she was attacking all three areas, at the rim, mid-range, and threes. They weren’t premeditated shots, they were in the flow of what we were doing.”

South Carolina also cleaned up the other areas. South Carolina was 6-6 from the line and 10-15 on layups in the second half. The Gamecocks made six of their first nine shot attempts and then six of seven in the fourth quarter to put Kentucky away. They shot 17-29 (59%) in the second half.

South Carolina also got 14 points from Henderson and 12 points and 13 rebounds from Laeticia Amihere, her first double-double since the NC State game. Senior LeLe Grissett started in place of Brea Beal as part of senior day, and had an outstanding game. She tied her season-high with 13 points, grabbed six rebounds, and blocked two shots. She played outstanding defense on Howard.

“How’s four years going to go by fast when high school took forever?” she said. “The first five seconds I couldn’t breathe. I ain’t gonna lie: ten seconds.”

Grissett was part of a sensational defensive effort by South Carolina. Kentucky shot just 35% for the game. The Wildcats had the same number of turnovers as baskets in the third quarter (six), and missed 12 consecutive shots in the fourth quarter before Wyatt scored on a putback at the end of the game.

Most importantly, South Carolina shut down Howard. She had 12 points on 2-11 shooting, with her only two baskets those back-to-back threes in the second quarter. Howard added six free throws in the fourth as the Gamecocks were pulling away. Grissett and Beal drew the individual matchups on Howard, but it took a team effort. South Carolina repeatedly trapped Howard, with Amihere and Boston using their size to shut off pick and rolls, giving Howard no room to shoot or pass.

“They did a great job of icing us and keeping us on one side of the floor,” Kentucky coach Kyra Elzy said. “That forced her to pass it more.”

“We tried to limit the amount of times that she came off with her right hand. We tried to force her left,” Staley said. “We knew she was going to go right, so we ended up trapping her. We wanted to make her a passer.”

Staley said the Gamecock executed the plan perfectly, saying they never had to go to plan B.

Notes:

South Carolina held its Senior Day ceremonies. The Gamecocks honored retiring COO Kevin O’Connell, three members of the practice squad, manager Alexis Boston (Aliyah’s older sister), and guard LeLe Grissett. Grissett has the option of returning next season. … Boston was doubled constantly and only had four points on 1-4 shooting. But she also had 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. She facilitated the offense well and was tremendous defensively. … South Carolina’s win plus Texas A&M’s win over Ole Miss Sunday means that barring something crazy (it is 2021), they will meet for the SEC regular season championship next Sunday. … South Carolina had 16 points off 12 Kentucky turnovers, while Kentucky had just six points off 11 turnovers. … South Carolina’s next game is Thursday against Ole Miss. Game time is TBA.