20 in a row: No. 1 USC overcomes sluggishness to top LSU, close in on SEC title
In a season full of ruthlessly efficient and dominant performances, South Carolina’s game against LSU on Thursday night won’t be remembered among the best.
With sloppy weather outside Colonial Life Arena, the No. 1 USC women’s basketball team played sloppy inside for large stretches. In the end, the Gamecocks found a way to scratch out a 63-48 win that puts them one victory away from a share of the SEC regular season title.
“I knew we weren’t going to be able to just keep up that pace and somebody was going to be able to challenge us in some type of way and, you know, looking at who we had left, LSU just plays a different style,” coach Dawn Staley said. “That zone, that matchup zone really creates problems for us.”
The Gamecocks turned the ball over 13 times in the first half and tied their lowest scoring output of the season against LSU’s pesky defense but hung on for their 20th consecutive victory, two away from tying a program record.
“If you told me that we were going to hold South Carolina to 63 points, I’d have thought we might have a chance of taking this game, late game,” LSU coach Nikki Fargas said.
Things started off well enough for South Carolina, with a 10-0 first-quarter run highlighted by a steal and score from senior guard Tyasha Harris, who drew a foul for the three-point play. Up 23-12 after 10 minutes, USC seemed ready to break the game open.
Instead, turnovers, already an issue early, got even worse in the second quarter as LSU’s aggressive defense gave the Gamecocks fits and opened the door for the Tigers to climb back into the game, trailing 34-26 at the break.
“They are really scrappy, I’ve give them that,” Harris said of the turnovers. “But I’d say it was more of us, not taking care of the ball and not meeting our passes ... (Staley) showed us the stat sheet (at halftime), and we saw that 16 of their 26 points were off our turnovers.”
South Carolina reasserted control to start the third quarter, ripping off an 11-2 run with every point coming in the paint. Freshman forward Aliyah Boston had seven points of her game-leading 13 points, senior forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan added eight of her 12 and the Gamecocks shot 72.7% from the field. With a 16-point edge heading into the fourth, the Gamecocks were unable to break completely free, but they held on to stay perfect in conference play and at home.
“Our focus at halftime was to move the ball more, get wide open shots and not force anything, take care of the ball and play how we usually play,” Herbert Harrigan said.
And one
With an emphatic swat in the closing seconds of the third quarter, Aliyah Boston tied Alaina Coates for South Carolina’s freshman blocked shots record, at 73. Later in the fourth quarter, she broke it and finished the game with five blocks.
“She understands timing. She understands scouting reports and understands what players do and their patented moves,” Staley said of Boston’s shot-blocking prowess. “But then she does a really good job at just standing between penetrating guards and the basket and she makes them play over her.”
Personal foul
Three of South Carolina’s four bench players ended up in the negative of plus/minus, meaning the Gamecocks were outscored with them on the floor. The only one not in that group, junior LeLe Grissett, had a plus/minus of just 1.
Tip-in
South Carolina’s magic number to secure a share of the SEC regular season crown and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament is one — Mississippi State faces Auburn later Thursday night, and if the Bulldogs lose, at least a share of the league title will be USC’s.
WHEN DO THE GAMECOCKS PLAY NEXT?
Who: No. 1 South Carolina (26-1, 13-0 SEC) at No. 14 Kentucky (20-5, 9-4 SEC)
When: 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Memorial Coliseum, Lexington, Kentucky
Watch: ESPN2
Listen: 98.5 FM in Columbia area
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 8:56 PM.
