South Carolina claws back twice to take down Purdue in double overtime

More than once, South Carolina women’s basketball looked as good as finished on the road Sunday against Purdue.

But some how, some way, the Gamecocks kept clawing back and finally came away with the 82-73 win in double overtime.

From the very start, USC (6-4) and the Boilermakers put on an unusual display on the floor where Dawn Staley’s team advanced to its first NCAA tournament Sweet 16 in 2012. At the first media timeout with 3:49 left in the first quarter, the Gamecocks led just 5-2, with the two teams shooting a combined 3-of-17 from the floor.

Purdue didn’t even score for the game’s first 5:31, and turned the ball over three times in that stretch, but Carolina failed to create any separation on the offensive end.

Early in the second quarter, Purdue’s top forwards, Ae’Rianna Harris and Fatou Diagne, drew their second foul each in quick succession, sending them both to the bench. In their absence, South Carolina generated offense by pounding the ball inside to redshirt forward Alexis Jennings, who had eight points on 4-of-6 shooting in the period.

Foul trouble wound up playing a significant role in the contest, with three Boilermakers, including Harris, the team’s leading rebounder, fouling out. The Gamecocks, meanwhile, wound up getting more than half their points in the paint and less than 19 percent on jumpers and 3-pointers.

After halftime, USC took its largest lead of the day with 7:48 in the third quarter, 35-25. After that, however, Purdue ripped off a 17-4 run as freshman guard Kayana Traylor poured in eight points and three assists. South Carolina did not score for the final 4:51 of the quarter.

Into the fourth quarter, Purdue extended its lead to seven points with less than five minutes to play, but South Carolina stormed back with an 11-4 run powered by eight points from junior forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan and a crucial 3 from sophomore guard Bianca Jackson with 90 seconds left to tie the game. With four seconds left, a long 3 by Purdue guard Karissa McLaughlin missed its mark, and the game went to overtime.

“We turned up our pressure. We went into more fullcourt pressure where we sped them up,” Staley told reporters of what changed late in the comeback. “We wanted to speed them up all night long, but we couldn’t find the combination.”

In extra time, disaster seemed to strike when junior guard Tyasha Harris fouled McLaughlin on a drive, and Staley was called for a technical foul after straying from her coach’s box on the first free throw. Purdue made all four free throws off the combined fouls and gave itself a two-possession lead with roughly 45 seconds to play.

But Harris drew a foul of her own on a drive and made both free throws to make it a two-point game, and McLaughlin missed one of two free throws with less than 30 seconds to play. Down by 3, Carolina got the ball to Harris, who launched a shot from well beyond the arc with seven seconds that missed. Herbert Harrigan scrambled to secure the offensive board and passed it to Jackson, who was fouled with two seconds left as she tried a 3-pointer of her own. She made all three free throws to send the game to a second OT.

In the second extra period, Purdue’s lack of depth without Harris and her fouled-out teammates began to show. South Carolina seized control right away, and with 1:34 left to play, Tyasha Harris, playing in front of dozens of friends and family in her home state, drove through contact and connected for an and-1 layup that extended the Gamecocks’ lead to seven, effectively sealing the game.

Star of the game: Herbert Harrigan set a season best with 19 points, and after starting the game 3-for-10 from the field, she shot 5-for-6 to close. She also pulled down a career-best 15 rebounds and blocked two shots to go with four assists.

Stat of the game: Purdue turned the ball over a season-high 25 times, leading to 23 South Carolina points.

Play of the game: The foul on Jackson with two seconds left in the first overtime was the result of an over-aggressive closeout, and gave the Gamecocks a lease on life they were extremely fortunate to get. Jackson had made just four of seven free throw attempts heading into Sunday’s game, but she sank each one easily under enormous pressure.

“That’s pretty tough. That takes some real mental toughness to be able to block out being down 3, needing the 3 to tie the game and to put ourselves in position to win the game,” Staley told reporters. “Not a lot of players can do that, and I don’t think she hit any part of the rim. That’s pretty impressive.”

NEXT

South Carolina returns home for its final game before Christmas, hosting Staley’s’ former team, Temple, on Dec. 21 at Colonial Life Arena at 7 p.m.

This story was originally published December 16, 2018 at 5:31 PM.