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Gamecocks move closer but still fall far short

Staley is not in the mood for moral victories after a loss to nation’s No. 1

Written by CHRIS DEARING

Special to The State
Posted on 12.28.08
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Before facing No. 1 Connecticut, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley talked about the atmosphere that would encompass Colonial Life Arena with the top ranked squad in town.

It’s something she hopes will become the rule for the Gamecocks program rather than the exception.

But with a crowd of 5,113 looking on — probably split between the Garnet and Black of USC and Blue and Gray of UConn — the Huskies flexed their muscle early in a 77-48 victory Sunday afternoon.

“We got a glimpse of what it’s like to be the No. 1 team in the country just by having people follow you and come see you play,” Staley said. “We know what that feels like. I think we will one day put ourselves in the position to have the crowd respond to us in a way like that. We witnessed it, and from a South Carolina standpoint, maybe one day we will to go on the road and take thousands of fans.”

It came as little solace to Staley that UConn (11-0) did not reach its average margin of victory (36.8) this season. The 77 points also tied the season low for the Huskies. And it didn’t come close to the 58-point loss the Gamecocks suffered last year in a 97-39 Connecticut victory.

It also was a better showing than a 31-point loss to No. 3 Stanford 10 days ago.

Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said South Carolina was much improved over a year ago.

“They have (gotten better),” Auriemma said. “They are a little more disciplined and little more deliberate. They were able to stay in the game without it (getting away from them). Last year, when they got behind, the game kind of took off and got away from them.”

The game got away from the Gamecocks (6-5) early in the first half. Behind the inside presence of Tina Charles and the all-around performance of Maya Moore, the Huskies had runs of 12-0 and 12-1 to build a 32-16 lead with four minutes remaining in the half.

Charles had a double-double in the opening twenty minutes with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The 6-foot-4 junior finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds to lead four UConn players in double figures.

The first spurt came with USC clinging to its last lead at 7-6. Berkeley County native Kalana Greene started the run with a layup in transition followed by another layup by Charles.

Renee Montgomery hit a 3-pointer, Charles added another layup and Moore hit another 3 to complete the run and give the visitors an 18-7 advantage.

The second run put the game out of reach, but USC stayed competitive for most of the second half. The Huskies led 37-19 at the half, but the Gamecocks matched them basket for basket for the first 14 minutes of the second half before faltering down the stretch.

Moore finished with 15 points and Montgomery added 13 for UConn.

Afterwards, Staley was not interested in moral victories. She pointed to the 22 turnovers and just three assists that led to the Huskies owning a 29-2 advantage on fast-break points.

“The turnovers really killed us, and it was the type of turnovers that we had that really hurt us,” Staley said. “We just gave up too many turnovers that led to easy baskets. I really feel that once we had them in the half-court set, we felt like that we put them in the position to take the type of shots we wanted them to take.”

Samone Kennedy and Lakeisha Sutton led the Gamecocks with 11 points apiece. Leading scorer Demetress Adams had four shots and finished with six points.

Kennedy remembers last year’s setback well and thinks the Gamecocks have improved.

“We did some things well today, and it definitely helps us going into SEC play,” Kennedy said. “We definitely played a lot better than last year but we still feel that we can get a lot better. There are some definite positives to take from this game.”

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