Early burst, late rally push South Carolina women past Auburn
Against a defense known for its gritty, intense style, South Carolina women’s basketball started hot and rallied late to keep its SEC title hopes alive, defeating Auburn on Thursday, 73-66.
It was far from beautiful play that got the win — the No. 14 Gamecocks (21-7, 13-2 SEC) turned the ball over 19 times, missed 10 layups and had two players foul out.
But it was enough, thanks to double-doubles from junior guard Tyasha Harris, who had 14 points and 10 assists, and senior forward Alexis Jennings, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Junior forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan added a team-high 18 points and senior guard Doniyah Cliney rounded out the USC scorers in double figures with 11 points.
“It was a very difficult win, but I’m glad our team pulled it together,” Jennings said on the SEC Network Plus broadcast. “We had a lot of turnovers, so of course we’re going to have to work on that.”
Now, South Carolina will host No. 5 Mississippi State at Colonial Life Arena on Sunday with the chance to secure at least a share of the SEC regular season championship.
The game was defined by runs — Carolina blitzed out to an early 10-0 lead to start the game, with all of those points coming in the paint. Then, midway through the fourth quarter and trailing by two, the Gamecocks put together a 15-2 stretch that secured the victory.
“This is a game of runs, so we got the best of them this time, and we just gotta keep pushing from here,” Jennings said.
In those runs, USC’s four leading scorers accounted for every point. Outside of that quartet, the Gamecocks’ offense was struggled, making just four of 19 attempts from the field.
Early on, it hardly seemed to make a difference, though. Auburn shot just 23.7 percent in the first quarter, trailing 18-8. And while USC had 11 turnovers in the first half, Dawn Staley’s club limited the damage off those mistakes — the Tigers had just two points off them.
However, after that blazing start in which they made six of seven shots, the Gamecocks’ offensive production slowed, needing 19 shots to make six more. Auburn, meanwhile, connected on back-to-back 3s just before halftime to trim the lead to 33-24.
Coming back after the break, Auburn scored five quick points unanswered to close the gap to 33-29. South Carolina, meanwhile, missed seven of nine attempts to start the third quarter, as the pace of play slowed to stop-and-go. Auburn’s backcourt combo of senior Janiah McKay and sophomore Daisa Alexander continued to steadily chip away at the deficit.
The Tiger pressure continued into the final quarter, and Jennings picked up her fourth foul early and was forced to the bench. With her out, AU came all the way back to take its first lead with 6:58 left, 50-48, on a 3-pointer from Alexander.
That lead, however, was short-lived, as the Gamecocks stormed back on that 15-2 run, coinciding with Jennings’ return to the floor.
Herbert Harrigan and Harris each had three-point plays in that stretch, and of the Gamecocks’ 28 fourth-quarter points, 24 came from Herbert Harrigan, Harris and Jennings. Herbert Harrigan alone had 12 points in the period.
Next: South Carolina returns home to face Mississippi State on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks and Bulldogs will be televised on ESPN2.
This story was originally published February 28, 2019 at 9:15 PM.
