South Carolina bounces back for win, setting up showdown with No. 2 Baylor
Coming off its first loss of the season, South Carolina women’s basketball snagged its first win of the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands by relying on some local talent.
In a 68-53 win over Washington State on Friday, the Gamecocks (7-1) were led by senior forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan and freshman forward Aliyah Boston, both playing in front of family and friends from the Caribbean. Herbert Harrigan led all scorers with 20 points, and Boston, a native of of the Virgin Islands, added 15 points and eight rebounds.
It was a far cry from USC’s Thanksgiving loss to No. 17 Indiana, in which both Herbert Harrigan and Boston were limited by foul trouble and the Gamecocks’ struggled to make up for their absence with missed 3-pointers.
With a season-high 23 fouls called against South Carolina on Thursday, fans and players seemed frustrated with the officiating against Indiana, and the Gamecocks came out on a mission early against WSU, starting the game on an 18-4 run. Herbert Harrigan and Boston each scored four in that stretch, and Boston led six Gamecock scorers with seven points after 10 minutes, as USC led 25-9.
But after a poor fourth quarter did them in against Indiana, the Gamecocks slumped in the second quarter Friday, shooting just 29.4% while the Cougars shot 64.3% and made 4 3-pointers. A 19-point lead shrank to just five by halftime.
After the break, the Gamecocks reasserted control with an 11-2 run, led by four more points from Boston. Washington State refused to let the game get out of hand, however, clawing its way back to keep the deficit to 10 points heading into the final 10 minutes.
This time around, though, South Carolina stayed strong and held on. Herbert Harrigan ripped off six consecutive points in 2:10 to start the fourth quarter, senior guard Tyasha Harris drilled a 3-pointer to put the lead back at 19, and from there USC cruised to victory. After making 2-of-19 3-pointers against Indiana, the Gamecocks were 2-for-5 on Friday and dominated in the paint, scoring 40 points there compared to just 22 for WSU.
“I thought we did well. That’s a good basketball team and we knew they were gonna have some runs, their ability to shoot the 3 always gets them in the game.” coach Dawn Staley said on the FloHoops.com broadcast after the game. “I thought we were locked in, especially in the third and fourth quarters, in just trying to make it difficult for them to score.”
USC’s win sets up a showdown with No. 2 Baylor on Saturday. The Lady Bears, who feature South Carolina transfer Te’a Cooper as their point guard, defeated Indiana on Friday and are undefeated on the season, while the Gamecocks will be going for their second top-10 win of the year.
NEXT
Who: No. 5 South Carolina vs. No. 2 Baylor
When: 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 30
Where: St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Watch: Streaming on FloHoops.com, subscription required
This story was originally published November 29, 2019 at 9:40 PM.
