A’ja Wilson’s career night isn’t enough as South Carolina falls to Notre Dame
No. 3 South Carolina women’s basketball fell for the first time in the 2017-2018 season, dropping the final of the Gulf Coast Showcase to No. 6 Notre Dame on Sunday, 92-85.
While senior A’ja Wilson continued to stuff the stat sheet with a career-high 34 points, nine rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks, the Gamecocks (6-1) struggled to contain Notre Dame’s explosive guard play, as the Irish shot 55 percent from the field and came back from an early deficit to outscore USC by a wide margin in the game’s middle portion.
The first quarter started about as well as it could have for South Carolina, with the Gamecocks sprinting to an 8-0 lead and holding on for a 10 point lead after 10 minutes. Their offensive success came for the most part without the contributions of Wilson, who had just three points as her teammates shot 55.5 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc to keep the Irish defense honest.
In the second quarter, however, Notre Dame furiously rallied as sophomore guard Tyasha Harris sat for most of the period with two fouls. While Harris sat, Wilson struggled, going 1-for-5 from the field, and the rest of South Carolina’s offense went cold. Meanwhile, Irish guards Arike Ogunbowale, Jackie Young and Marina Mabrey pounded the defense, outscoring South Carolina 23-10 in the quarter to take a 41-38 lead into the half.
Coming out of the break, Notre Dame continued to push its lead all the way out to 13 points midway through the third quarter. While Wilson began to push harder, scoring 11 points and forcing the issue down low, even as the Irish collapsed on her inside. When Wilson attempted to kick the ball out for jump shots, her teammates continued to shoot poorly, going 30 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from 3.
In the fourth quarter, Wilson continued to single-handedly generate almost all of South Carolina’s offense, scoring 18 of 30 points for the Gamecocks in the final 10 minutes. But redshirt senior Lindsey Spann, USC’s second-best scorer heading into the matchup, remained unable to connect from the field, shooting 3-for-13, and Ogunbowale and Young both put up more than 20 points to never let the game get within one possession
In the game’s final minute, both teams traded free throws, allowing the Gamecocks to rally slightly as Notre Dame struggled from the free throw line, closing to within 88-83 late. But the Irish did just enough to hold on and got a few crucial bounces to retain possession.
South Carolina will attempt to rebound from its first loss of the season against Western Carolina on Thursday at Colonial Life Arena.
This story was originally published November 26, 2017 at 9:25 PM with the headline "A’ja Wilson’s career night isn’t enough as South Carolina falls to Notre Dame."