No. 1 Gamecocks push win streak to 19 with blowout over Vanderbilt
With brutal efficiency, South Carolina women’s basketball extended the nation’s second-longest winning streak Monday night, dismantling Vanderbilt 95-44 for its 19th consecutive victory.
In a game where the No. 1 Gamecocks (25-1, 12-0 SEC) were firmly in control by the end of the first quarter, just about the only drama came when senior point guard Tyasha Harris left the game just before halftime limping, then briefly returned for the third quarter only to leave the game again and watch the rest of it from the bench after taking a knee to her thigh.
And even that won’t have a lasting impact — Harris termed the injury as a “stinger” and said she will be fine moving forward.
The game itself was even more lopsided than the teams’ first meeting in January, when the Gamecocks beat the Commodores by 36 points — freshman guard Zia Cooke drained a 3-pointer less than 45 seconds in, and USC never trailed again, extending its streak of not trailing an opponent to 279 minutes, nearly seven full games.
“I thought this was a complete game,” coach Dawn Staley said. “I didn’t think we had too many letdowns. Obviously we had some turnovers, but they didn’t snowball into anything. I thought we did a good job at defending them.”
After a small Vanderbilt surge early cut South Carolina’s lead to three, the Gamecocks quickly adjusted to hold the Commodores scoreless the rest of the first quarter and score 17 unanswered points of their own from six different players, leading 30-10 after 10 minutes.
USC’s reserves then took over in the second quarter and, after briefly returning to the bench to start the second half, brought the win home, scoring 42 of the Gamecocks’ 65 points after the first quarter
“It’s important for everybody, keep everybody engaged and locked in and all on the same page,” sophomore guard Destanni Henderson, who scored 12, said of the bench play.
Freshman forward Aliyah Boston notched her 11th career double-double, finishing the night with 12 points and 14 rebounds, junior guard LeLe Grissett led all scorers with 14 points and Cooke, Harris and Henderson joined them in double figures scoring.
The Gamecocks dominated Vandy inside and out, on both sides of the floor, holding the Commodores to 0-for-2 shooting, out-scoring them by 20 points in the paint and 14 points on fast breaks, and pulling down 20 offensive rebounds to Vanderbilt’s 19 defensive ones.
“I think they just keep getting better as the season goes on,” Vanderbilt coach Stephanie White said. “I thought their transition game off of makes and misses was incredible. The way they shared the basketball was huge. I mean, they had 19 assists on 36 made field goals, but they made the right play at the right time. Nobody played outside themselves.”
And one
With Monday’s win, Carolina now sits two games ahead of Mississippi State for first place in the SEC with four regular season games left. The Gamecocks also hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bulldogs, so two more wins would guarantee them at least a share of the regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
Personal foul
Harris described her injury as a “stinger,” the result of a knee to her thigh, and both she and Staley will be fine moving forward. She didn’t need to return with the game well in hand, but the Gamecocks have enjoyed a remarkable run of good health this season, and this was one of the few instances that has even threatened that.
“She’s going to play,” Staley said. “ ... We’re just taking a precaution. Ty could have probably finished the game, but she did her job, she got us a big lead and afforded herself to sit down and nurse, I think she got kneed in the quad.”
Tip-in
For the 26th consecutive game, the Gamecocks’ starting lineup consisted of Tyasha Harris, Zia Cooke, Brea Beal, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan and Aliyah Boston. That marks the longest stretch USC has kept the same lineup to start a season under Dawn Staley.
WHEN DO THE GAMECOCKS PLAY NEXT?
Who: No. 1 South Carolina (25-1, 12-0 SEC) vs. LSU (18-6, 8-4 SEC)
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: Colonial Life Arena
Watch: Streaming online on SEC Network Plus via WatchESPN
Listen: 1320 AM/107.5 FM in Columbia area
This story was originally published February 17, 2020 at 8:50 PM.
