South Carolina flexes against feisty Arkansas to secure spot in SEC title game
On the floor where its SEC tournament title streak ended last season, against the team who ended it, South Carolina exacted revenge with a 90-64 victory against Arkansas on Saturday, booking a return trip to the conference championship game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
And the top-seeded Gamecocks women’s basketball team (31-1) did it by taking it to the Razorbacks with their own preferred style of play. Arkansas leads the SEC in possessions per 40 minutes and 3-pointers per game, but the Gamecocks raced up and down the floor step for step and hit 12 3-pointers after making just one in their quarterfinal matchup with Georgia.
Sophomore guard Destanni Henderson led the way, scoring a career-high 21 points and making four 3s, and freshman forward Aliyah Boston overcame foul trouble to dominate inside in the second half (13 points and 13 rebounds).
“We just got to do what we can take care of, whether that’s running up and down the floor, shooting 3s, fast-break layups, rebounds, you know, we just got to be the dominant team,” Henderson said.
From the get-go, the semifinal matchup was played at a spirited pace as undersized Arkansas scrambled after rebounds early and made two of its first 3-point attempts to go up 6-3 while South Carolina’s offense got off to a slow start.
After freshman guard Zia Cooke was fouled in the paint and made two free throws, the Gamecocks raced ahead with the trademark combo of exasperating defense and interior offense.
Every USC starter but senior point guard Tyasha Harris scored in a 13-0 run to seize control. Freshman guard Brea Beal completed a 3-point play through contact, and senior forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan added four more by aggressively attacking the paint.
Arkansas finally managed to snap the scoreless streak when leading scorer Chelsea Dungee was fouled on a 3-pointer and sank two free throws, but the Razorbacks still missed their last 10 shots from the field and turned the ball over six times to trail 18-8 after 10 minutes.
Redshirt junior Amber Ramirez got going for Arkansas early in the second, drilling three 3-pointers to help pull the Razorbacks within single digits. But as the pace once again quickened, Henderson came up big, nailing three 3s of her own as well as a fast-break layup to reach a team-high 13 points by halftime.
That, combined with a late 10-2 push, including a 3-pointer from Cooke with seven seconds before the break, had the Gamecocks up 48-29.
After the halftime break, Ramirez reignited her squad with a pair of 3-pointers to highlight a furious 19-8 run to make things interesting again, as Boston went to the bench with three fouls.
“I was very upset, because I hate being in foul trouble, and (coach Dawn Staley) got on me when I came off the bench, but I just knew that I had to stay focused and that’s what I did, and then I came back out,” Boston said.
Once she did, she made just her second 3-pointer of the season, and after a deadball rebound, the Gamecocks quick-played the Razorbacks and caught them unprepared for a quick basket from Henderson. That started a 12-0 run with all the points coming from Henderson and Boston to put USC back up 19 heading into the fourth quarter.
“I don’t think we adjusted; I think we never flinched,” Staley said. “Because we knew, we talked about it at halftime — they’re going to go on a run, the game is probably going to be called a little differently. So we were ready to make that adjustment. It’s just, when you’re in it, you just gotta fight your way out of it. And do I want to call a timeout and let them rest so they can get themselves revved up to go on another run? Nope. I waited for the media timeout and I just told our team, ‘I didn’t flinch, so neither should you.’”
Arkansas seemed to run out of steam after South Carolina’s counterpunch, and USC forged ahead to its fifth title game in six years with an easy fourth quarter.
“It means nothing unless we win. It means nothing. I like to appear in them and I like to win,” Staley said.
And one
Undersized Arkansas had simply no way to penetrate South Carolina’s interior defense, which produced eight blocks, many of them thunderous. Five different Gamecocks swatted a shot.
Personal foul
Arkansas is known as a 3-point shooting club, but the Gamecocks still allowed them to shoot 44.4% from beyond the arc.
Tip-in
South Carolina defeated Arkansas three times this season, and Saturday’s game marked its biggest win of the year over the Razorbacks.
When do the Gamecocks play at the SEC tournament?
Who: No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 2 Mississippi State
What: Championship of the SEC tournament
When: 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
TV channel: ESPN2
Listen: 107.5 FM in Columbia area, SEC Radio on SiriusXM
Box score
ARKANSAS (24-8)—Thomas 1-4 0-0 2, Daniels 5-12 5-6 16, Dungee 2-11 7-9 12, Ramirez 6-12 0-0 18, Tolefree 3-12 0-1 6, Barnum 1-3 0-0 2, Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Oberg 0-0 0-0 0, Doumbia 0-1 0-0 0, Gaulden 3-6 2-2 8, Hughes 0-1 0-0 0, Spangler 0-0 0-0 0, Team 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 21-64 14-18 64
SOUTH CAROLINA (31-1)—Boston 6-11 0-3 13, Herbert Harrigan 5-12 2-2 13, Beal 2-5 3-3 7, Cooke 4-13 4-4 14, Harris 4-10 0-1 11, Amihere 1-5 0-0 3, Saxton 1-3 0-0 2, Wesolek 1-2 0-0 2, Grissett 2-6 0-0 4, Henderson 8-14 1-1 21, Thompson 0-1 0-0 0, Team 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 34-82 10-14 90
Halftime—South Carolina 48-29. 3-Point Goals—Arkansas 8-18 (Daniels 1-3, Dungee 1-1, Ramirez 6-9, Tolefree 0-3, Gaulden 0-2), South Carolina 12-29 (Boston 1-3, Herbert Harrigan 1-1, Cooke 2-7, Harris 3-6, Amihere 1-1, Wesolek 0-1, Henderson 4-9, Thompson 0-1). Assists—Arkansas 10 (Ramirez 3), South Carolina 21 (Harris 7). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Arkansas 33 (Thomas 4-6), South Carolina 60 (Boston 7-13). Total Fouls—Arkansas 16, South Carolina 12. Technical Fouls—None.
This story was originally published March 7, 2020 at 6:52 PM.
