Gamecocks crack 100 points against Dawn Staley’s former team in rout
Dawn Staley’s dominance over her former team continues, as South Carolina women’s basketball routed Temple 103-41 at home Thursday night.
That marks four consecutive wins in four seasons for the Gamecocks against the Owls, whom Staley coached from 2000 to 2008. And unlike last season’s contest, in which Temple provided Staley’s squad with an unexpected battle and a single-digit margin of victory, this year’s matchup was a lopsided affair in which No. 5 USC’s depth simply overwhelmed a Temple team with turnover issues.
“They just thoroughly kicked our (butt),” Temple coach Tonya Cardoza admitted.
Ten different Gamecocks scored on the game, led by sophomore guard Zia Cooke, who poured in 12 points in the first quarter alone and finished with a team-best 23.
“I kinda figured it was going to be a pretty good night, just based off the week that I had,” Cooke said. “I had a pretty good week in practice, and I just brought everything from practice into the game.”
Cooke’s scoring outburst early helped USC overcome a little bit of a sluggish start, as she tallied eight points in a 10-2 run in the first quarter. In the early going, Temple did manage to beat the Gamecocks on the boards, winning the rebounding battle and getting second chances despite not having the size to compete with 6-foot-5 forward Aliyah Boston.
“We were a little lethargic when it came to just coming out,” Staley said. “I think after being off for 10 days and then having the practices that we had and the emphasis on just making sure we’re taking pretty good shots and we’re defending the way we’re supposed to with discipline, I wasn’t too concerned about it, because because they’re thinking.”
Sure enough, the Gamecocks started to settle in during the second quarter and used several timely bursts of unanswered points to lead by 19 points at halftime. The Owls’ physicality cost them with two players picking up three quick fouls before halftime, and Boston wound up tallying 14 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
3 OBSERVATIONS
1. Temple finished the game with 18 turnovers, and the Gamecocks made the Owls pay by scoring 28 points on fast breaks, including 13 in a third quarter that took the game from comfortable to full-on rout. South Carolina’s ball movement in transition was especially smooth, and junior Destanni Henderson led the way with seven assists.
On the other side of the ball, South Carolina had just six turnovers, and it limited that damage even more to just three fast-break points for Temple.
“Truly happy,” Staley said of how that ball security made her feel. “That’s one of the areas in which, I don’t think we have a huge problem with it (but) I think sometimes, we shoot ourselves in the foot, we get in our own way when it comes to doing too much. You see the turnovers we did have, I thought we just tried to put too much mustard on a hot dog. And they’re aware. And again, when they’re aware of it, that mean’s they’re learning.”
2. Sophomore forward Laeticia Amihere got the first start of her career Thursday night, joining three of her classmates in the lineup. Against a physically smaller and outmatched Temple squad, she started slow but built up steam as the game went on, scoring four consecutive points to start the second quarter as the Owls consistently fouled her on strong drives to the basket. And in the third quarter, she tallied five more to put her at 11 points for the game.
“I’m going to do whatever coach needs for this team to win. So whatever position she puts me in, I’m gonna own it, because she knows best,” Amihere said.
3. The player Amihere replaced in the lineup, junior forward Victaria Saxton, was electric off the bench, scoring 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and adding seven rebounds and four blocks. The only reason she didn’t start, Staley said, was because of a death in her family that caused her to miss practice in the lead-up to the game.
NEXT USC BASKETBALL GAME
Who: No. 5 South Carolina (5-1) vs. Ole Miss (5-0)
When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 31
Where: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina
TV: SEC Network
This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 8:51 PM.
