No. 2 Gamecocks stunned by Tennessee, lose first SEC game since 2019
South Carolina women’s basketball seemed to have created separation Thursday night, knocking SEC rival Tennessee back with a big second quarter.
But in the course of a disastrous second half, the No. 2 Gamecocks gave it all away, surrendering a 15-point lead in the final 16 or so minutes to fall on the road to the No. 21 Lady Vols, 75-67.
USC shot just 30.3% in the second half while allowing Tennessee to shoot 57.1%. The Gamecocks made one shot from the field for the final five minutes of play, while Tennessee senior star Rennia Davis exploded for 24 points, all in the second half.
“They flat out beat us — no ifs, ands or buts about it,” USC coach Dawn Staley said. “They put us back on our heels. They made big plays, they made basketball plays. And we didn’t.”
The defeat marks South Carolina’s first loss to an SEC opponent since March 2019 when it fell in the SEC tournament to Arkansas. Since then, the Gamecocks had won 31 consecutive conference games.
“Honestly, we didn’t do anything schematically different in second half,” Tennessee coach Kellie Harper said. “It was all about the insides. So yeah, I challenged them and got a little fiery in the halftime (speech), got a lot of emotion. And they obviously responded, obviously really responded.”
3 OBSERVATIONS
1. A tale of two halves
The Gamecocks and Volunteers were tied after one quarter, as South Carolina spread its scoring around six players and Tennessee leaned heavily on junior guard/forward Rae Burrell, who had eight points.
Into the second quarter, though, USC pulled away with a 21-5 run. Junior guard Destanni Henderson hit a pair of 3-pointers, and sophomore forward Aliyah Boston added five points and six rebounds as the Gamecocks stretched their lead to 16 points.
Tennessee scrapped its way back to trail by a dozen at halftime, but South Carolina got another spurt early in the third quarter, capped by another Henderson 3-pointer, to lead 44-29 with 6:45 left in the quarter, a seemingly comfortable margin.
Instead, UT stormed back with a 22-6 run to snag the lead with one minute left before the final quarter. Rennia Davis, who had been completely bottled up by South Carolina’s star defender Brea Beal, went off for nine points alone in that stretch.
“I got called soft at halftime. I didn’t, I just didn’t appreciate that,” Davis said of what jolted her into action. “And I knew I had to do more for my team anyways.”
And into the fourth, the Lady Vols and Davis never let up. The senior tacked on 11 more points, including a dagger 3-pointer with 5:36 to play that tied the game. South Carolina never recovered the lead.
“Tennessee just took it to us in the third and fourth quarters, and I mean we had nothing or no one to stop it,” Staley said.
2. Boston looms large
Boston led South Carolina with 17 points and 16 rebounds on the evening, her fourth consecutive double-double and 11th on season. But her production, particularly when it came to scoring, came in spurts against a Tennessee squad with as much length as the Gamecocks have seen all year.
In the first quarter, Boston battled with sophomore forward Tamari Key inside — at one point, play was briefly paused as trainers wiped some blood off her — but she didn’t attempt a single shot.
While she got going in the second quarter to post five points and 10 rebounds by halftime, she was quiet once more down the stretch. In the final five minutes of the game as South Carolina tried to rally, she had two points, two rebounds and missed her only shot, a 3-pointer, while battling with foul trouble.
“We tried to get the ball into Aliyah, and we got we got the ball to her at the high post,” Staley said. “We just couldn’t figure out how we could get it to the low post. Maybe she needed to be in two places at once. But unfortunately, that doesn’t happen.”
3. Henderson’s heavy load
Destanni Henderson was right alongside Boston in leading the Gamecocks, tallying 15 points and six assists. But she was forced to play the full 40 minutes, as Staley said she didn’t feel comfortable playing any other point guard. That workload showed as the game wore on — after her 3-pointer midway through the third quarter to push the lead to 15, she shot 1 for 5 down the stretch for just two points, along with four assists but three turnovers.
“I attribute just our point guard play to heavy minutes,” Staley said. “Can she play, has she ever played it? She certainly has. But we’re talking 40 minutes in this type of game, where she’s pushing the ball down the floor and she’s guarding. It’s hard for her.”
NEXT USC BASKETBALL GAME
Who: No. 2 South Carolina (17-3, 12-1 SEC) vs. No. 17 Kentucky (15-5, 8-4)
When: 3 p.m. Sunday
Where: Colonial Life Arena
Watch: ESPN
South Carolina vs Tennessee basketball box score
SOUTH CAROLINA (17-3)—Boston 6-12 5-6 17, Saxton 2-4 2-2 6, Beal 2-6 0-0 4, Cooke 6-22 3-4 15, Henderson 6-12 0-0 15, Amihere 2-3 0-0 4, Wesolek 0-0 0-0 0, Grissett 1-4 0-0 2, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Russell 1-5 2-4 4, Team 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 26-68 12-16 67
TENNESSEE (13-5)—Burrell 9-17 0-0 19, Davis 6-12 10-10 24, Key 1-3 3-4 5, Kushkituah 2-7 3-6 7, Walker 2-6 2-4 6, Suarez 0-1 0-0 0, Horston 5-13 2-4 12, Salary 1-1 0-0 2, Team 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 26-60 20-28 75
Halftime—South Carolina 37-25. 3-Point Goals—South Carolina 3-14 (Boston 0-1, Beal 0-1, Cooke 0-4, Henderson 3-6, Russell 0-2), Tennessee 3-8 (Burrell 1-3, Davis 2-4, Walker 0-1). Assists—South Carolina 11 (Henderson 6), Tennessee 14 (Horston 5). Fouled Out—Tennessee Key. Rebounds—South Carolina 40 (Boston 5-16), Tennessee 40 (Team 2-5). Total Fouls—South Carolina 20, Tennessee 20. Technical Fouls—None. A—2,512.
This story was originally published February 18, 2021 at 8:57 PM.
