South Carolina defeats UConn for first time in program history
Going into Monday’s matchup with national powerhouse UConn, South Carolina women’s basketball desperately wanted a win after eight consecutive losses to the sport’s preeminent power of the last decade.
But the No. 1 Gamecocks didn’t just beat the No. 5 Huskies. They led from start to finish in a dominant 70-52 victory to overcome years of frustration and give coach Dawn Staley one of the biggest regular-season wins of her tenure.
“I’m just relieved,” coach Dawn Staley said. “Not because there was a whole lot of pressure — I mean, there is pressure to win every single game — but when you think about the former players, you think about the current players and what it would look like if we lost the game, I didn’t want them to feel that. I didn’t want 18,000 people to feel that, so I felt relieved in that we got it done and it makes so many other people happy.”
The atmosphere in a sold-out Colonial Life Arena reached raucous levels before tipoff, and both teams seemed a little too excited to start, each making just one of its first nine attempts.
Then, just over four minutes into the game, freshman forward Aliyah Boston stepped out and drilled a 3-pointer, the first attempt of her college career.
“I’m starting to get a little bit more confident when it comes to my outside shots, been working on it in practice a little bit more,” Boston said.
From there, the Gamecocks stretched their lead as senior guard Tyasha Harris connected for three buckets. UConn, meanwhile, flailed offensively, going 1-for-16 in the first quarter and scoring just two points, its lowest total since the NCAA moved to quarters in 2015-16.
“That first quarter, it just got a little too fast for us, you know, it got sped up, and some shots were maybe a little bit rushed, some things were a little bit forced, some were easy that didn’t go in,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “But defensively, I thought they were really, really good and they put a tremendous amount of pressure on our perimeter game.”
UConn bounced back to score 21 points in the second quarter, shooting 56.3% from the field. But South Carolina was even better, drilling 76.9% of its attempts and responding to every Husky surge with a basket of its own to keep a solid distance.
Harris, in particular, was all over the place, scoring or assisting on all but one of 10 baskets in the quarter for USC.
“From the start, I knew I had to be more assertive, I needed to get some shots up, just because the last two games weren’t pretty good for me,” Harris said. “And then once I got that rolling, I could get other things rolling and pass to my teammates, and they did really good job.”
The Huskies, meanwhile, were 5-for-9 on layups to start, and Auriemma, a famously emotional coach, shook his head as he left the court at halftime, with Carolina up 35-23.
Things only got worse for the Huskies after the break. USC kicked off the third quarter by making three consecutive 3-pointers to push its lead to 20 points, part of an 8-for-22 night from beyond the arc.
“They had kids make 3s and they hadn’t made a 3 all year long, so you know you come into the game and you go, the majority of their offense is transition baskets and second shots. So let’s see if we can take those away and take our chances,” Auriemma said. “And then they make all those 3s at the start of the second half — that was kind of like a back-breaker.”
Harris finished with 19 points and 11 assists, while Boston had 13 points and 12 rebounds — the first time all year the Gamecocks have had multiple players record double-doubles. Together, they helped South Carolina weather a few small stretches in the second half when UConn, led by senior guard Crystal Dangerfield, got a little momentum going and threatened to get back into it.
“I think Ty is a great leader. I look up to her, and I think she does a great job of keeping us composed. Even when they kind of had their little run, she was just telling us to stay focused, and she just kept on encouraging us,” Boston said.
And while the crowd’s emotion steadily ratcheted up as the final few minutes slipped away, USC’s vaunted freshmen kept their composure, just as they have all season long.
“The preparation for each game has been the same. So, you know, if they play it any differently, it will be shocking at this point, because you know, they just stay true to form,” Staley said.
When do the Gamecocks play next?
Who: No. 1 South Carolina (23-1, 10-0 SEC) vs. Auburn (8-13, 2-8 SEC)
When: 7 p.m., Thursday
Where: Colonial Life Arena
Watch: SEC Network
Listen: 107.5 FM in Columbia area
South Carolina UConn basketball box score
CONNECTICUT (20-3) — Nelson-Ododa 5-12 0-2 10, Walker 5-11 0-0 10, Dangerfield 10-19 4-4 28, Makurat 0-5 0-0 0, Williams 1-11 0-0 2, Griffin 1-3 0-0 2, Team 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 22-61 4-6 52
SOUTH CAROLINA (23-1) — Boston 6-14 0-0 13, Herbert Harrigan 4-11 0-0 10, Beal 2-4 0-2 5, Cooke 5-14 4-6 15, Harris 9-19 0-0 19, Saxton 0-0 0-0 0, Grissett 1-1 0-0 2, Henderson 2-3 0-0 6, Team 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 29-66 4-8 70
Halftime—South Carolina 35, UConn 23. 3-Point Goals—UConn 4-17 (Nelson-Ododa 0-1, Walker 0-4, Dangerfield 4-8, Makurat 0-3, Williams 0-1), South Carolina 8-22 (Boston 1-5, Herbert Harrigan 2-5, Beal 1-3, Cooke 1-3, Harris 1-4, Henderson 2-2). Assists—UConn 12 (Nelson-Ododa 4), South Carolina 14 (Harris 11). Fouled Out—UConn Nelson-Ododa. Rebounds—UConn 40 (Nelson-Ododa 7-9), South Carolina 38 (Boston 6-12). Total Fouls—UConn 11, South Carolina 4. Technical Fouls—None. A—18,000.
This story was originally published February 10, 2020 at 8:42 PM with the headline "South Carolina defeats UConn for first time in program history."
