Bigger in Texas: Gamecock bigs fuel South Carolina win in NCAA opener

In a cavernous arena full of mostly empty seats, on a floor divided by a massive black curtain to separate two courts and in front of no more than a couple hundred fans, the South Carolina women’s basketball team on Sunday again played an NCAA tournament game.

And though the circumstances were unusual at the Alamodome in Texas due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the result was not. The No. 1 seed Gamecocks defeated No. 16 seed Mercer 79-53, securing coach Dawn Staley’s 500th career win and advancing to the second round for the ninth consecutive tournament.

“It’s a great milestone,” Staley said. “It means that you’ve been in the game a long time and more than likely you’ve had some great players that allowed you to get to this point. ... But 501 sounds nice, and on and on and on. So 500’s great tonight. Tuesday we gotta lock up and play one of the great teams that are playing at this moment in Florida State and Oregon State.”

No. 8 Oregon State defeated No. 7 FSU 83-59. The Beavers and Gamecocks will play Tuesday.

South Carolina’s NCAA victory Sunday was its first since 2019, after last year’s tourney, where the Gamecocks were expected to be the No. 1 overall seed and favorite, was canceled due to the pandemic. This year’s edition is a far cry from the normally raucous environment of March Madness, as evidenced by Sunday’s relatively quiet game in a 70,000-seat stadium.

But even without thousands of screaming fans to urge them on, South Carolina’s larger, stronger interior game could not be stopped. Junior Victaria Saxton and sophomore Aliyah Boston had 20 points each, while sophomore forward Laeticia Amihere added 11 off the bench, and the trio combined for 32 rebounds, led by Boston with 18.

“We knew that we had an advantage in the paint, so we knew that we had to take care of that,” Saxton said. “We knew that we had to be patient with the ball and don’t rush anything. So I think that was a big focus for us, was just being patient when we catch the ball up top, especially for me, because I know that’s something that I’ve struggled with, but I think I did pretty well being patient and being able to find my partner.”

There were a few hiccups early. Saxton admitted to feeling a little winded in the early going after two weeks off from play, and the Gamecocks shot just 2 for 7, turning the ball over four times in the first six minutes to allow the Bears to stay close.

But against a Mercer lineup starting just one player taller than 6-foot, USC was able to impose its will inside toward the end of the first quarter. In particular, the combination of Amihere and Boston were overwhelming. Together, they cleaned up on the boards and powered the Gamecocks to nine second-chance points and 18 in the paint, as USC led 23-12 early.

With about 7:40 left in the second quarter, though, coach Dawn Staley switched up her lineup inserting a smaller group with four guards — junior Destanni Henderson, sophomores Zia Cooke and Brea Beal and freshman Eniya Russel. At that point, the Gamecocks led by 7.

But without much in the way of post presences on the floor, South Carolina quickly saw its lead shrink. Mercer was able to rebound more effectively, grabbing its only three offensive boards of the first half, and mounted a 7-2 run as the Gamecocks gave the ball away twice.

“We had a funky lineup in,” Staley admitted. “And you roll the dice, I rolled the dice. I wanted to see what we got from Eniya Russell, and what we got was probably a mismatch on the defensive side of the ball, and we didn’t have enough ball movement. We turned the ball over, we fouled them.”

Eventually, she called a timeout, and her message in the huddle was simple.

“I basically just said that this team is not going to die,” Staley said. “They’re not going to lie down and die just because you’re a No. 1 seed and they’re a 16 seed. They’re a very good basketball team. I just told them, don’t flinch. This is part of our journey. We got to get back to some our good habits, and things will get back to us just controlling the game a little bit more.”

Sure enough, Mercer was able to briefly tie the game on a jumper out of the break, but the Gamecocks were quick to reassert themselves. Junior Destiny Littleton slashed and drove on fast breaks, drawing fouls and getting to the line for four free throws. Saxton set up deep in the post and got an easy layup, then sank a jumper. And Boston hit a jumper of her own to cap a 10-0 burst that re-established a double-digit advantage.

Absent from the scoresheet that stretch, and indeed from the entire first half, were junior guard Destanni Henderson and sophomore guard Zia Cooke, two of USC’s top three scorers entering the game.

“We did a great job, honestly, on Henderson and Cooke,” Mercer coach Susie Gardner said. “They had zero points at halftime. And that was one of our objections, was to keep those two guys from being able to score. But our other objective was the defensive rebounding, and we just did not do a great job.”

South Carolina pulled down 21 offensive rebounds on the game, compared to 18 defensive ones for Mercer. Boston pulled down nine all on her own, and that stretch to end the first half was enough to break the Bears. They very briefly cut the lead to nine to open the second half, but South Carolina responded and never let its lead dip below 10 again.

“I thought overall, we settled down and we were able to play both sides of the ball like we normally do,” Staley said.

NEXT USC BASKETBALL GAME

What: NCAA tournament second round

Who: No. 1 seed South Carolina (23-4) vs. No. 8 seed Oregon State (12-7)

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday

Watch: ESPN

South Carolina vs Mercer NCAA box score

MERCER (19-7)—Dougherty 3-9 0-0 6, Thayne 0-1 0-0 0, Lewis 6-11 0-0 14, Neal-Tysor 7-18 0-0 15, Titus 5-19 2-2 12, Barkhoff 0-0 0-0 0, Votaw 3-6 0-1 6, Harris 0-1 0-0 0, Boykin 0-0 0-0 0, Team 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 24-65 2-3 53

SOUTH CAROLINA (23-4)—Boston 8-13 3-3 20, Saxton 7-10 6-7 20, Beal 3-8 0-3 7, Cooke 4-11 5-6 13, Henderson 0-4 0-2 0, Amihere 5-11 1-1 11, Wesolek 0-0 0-0 0, Littleton 1-5 5-6 8, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Russell 0-0 0-0 0, Team 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 28-62 20-28 79

HALFTIME—South Carolina 41-32. 3-Point Goals—Mercer 3-11 (Lewis 2-5, Neal-Tysor 1-5, Titus 0-1), South Carolina 3-14 (Boston 1-3, Beal 1-3, Cooke 0-2, Henderson 0-1, Amihere 0-1, Littleton 1-4). Assists—Mercer 14 (Lewis 4), South Carolina 12 (Henderson 4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Mercer 27 (Thayne 3-4), South Carolina 52 (Boston 9-18). Total Fouls—Mercer 21, South Carolina 11. Technical Fouls—None.

This story was originally published March 21, 2021 at 5:18 PM.

Greg Hadley

The State

Covering University of South Carolina football, women’s basketball and baseball for GoGamecocks and The State, along with Columbia city council and other news.