No. 1 South Carolina advances to Atlantis finals to face No. 2 UConn. What we learned
South Carolina women’s basketball is on a roll in the Bahamas.
In their second top-10 matchup through the first five games of the 2021-22 season, the No. 1 Gamecocks (5-0) defeated the No. 9 Oregon Ducks 80-63 Sunday afternoon to advance to the Bad Boy Mowers Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis championship game Monday.
South Carolina’s win over Oregon (3-1) propels it to a game against the No. 2 UConn Huskies, which will be televised at noon Monday on ESPN. UConn defeated Minnesota and No. 23 South Florida on its way to the championship game, while the Gamecocks took down Buffalo and Oregon in the tournament.
Here’s what we learned about the Gamecocks in their win over Oregon.
Zia Cooke, Laeticia Amihere lead a balanced scoring effort
Zia Cooke broke out once again Sunday.
After scoring 4 points in a quiet Saturday night against Buffalo, last year’s scoring leader was at full force against Oregon. Cooke scored 13 points in the first half, going 5 of 7 from the field and shooting 2 of 2 from the free throw line in the first 20 minutes.
Cooke finished the day leading the Gamecocks with a season-high 20 points.
Junior forward Laeticia Amihere continued to produce off the bench for South Carolina, tallying 10 points in the first half. Amihere finished the day with 18 points, her career-best as a Gamecock. She scored 10 points in the Gamecocks’ win over Clemson, averaging 7 points per game before Sunday.
Aliyah Boston also scored in double figures Sunday, dropping 16 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the field.
South Carolina took an 18-point lead over Oregon into halftime off 53.1% shooting (17-32). The Gamecocks maintained the lead, finishing with a 17-point win on 47.5% from the field.
Gamecocks dominant on the boards
Head coach Dawn Staley said South Carolina went into the Oregon matchup with a focus on grabbing rebounds. The Gamecocks’ emphasis paid off, especially in the first half.
USC controlled the glass early, going into halftime with a 22-10 rebound advantage over Oregon. Forwards Boston and Amihere grabbed five boards each through the first 20 minutes, excelling in an area where Staley challenged them ahead of the contest.
“(Oregon is) a dominating rebounding team,” Staley said at halftime. “We wanted to attack that part of it. I challenged our post players to beat them on the boards.”
The Gamecocks didn’t let up in the second half, finishing the game with a 41-30 advantage in rebounds.
South Carolina has out-rebounded each of its last 39 opponents, a streak dating back to the 2019-20 season.
No 1 vs. No. 2 on deck in the Bahamas
The Battle 4 Atlantis’ marquee matchup is coming to reality Monday.
No. 2 UConn defeated No. 23 South Florida 60-53 to advance to the championship game in the Bahamas, meaning the Huskies will meet the top-ranked Gamecocks.
The Huskies are 3-0 throughout the 2021-22 season, defeating Arkansas before tallying wins over Minnesota and USF in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Consensus AP All-American Paige Bueckers is averaging 21 points per game, with freshman Azzi Fudd emerging throughout the Huskies’ campaign in the Bahamas.
Fudd scored 18 points, all on 3-point baskets, in UConn’s most recent win over South Florida on Sunday. She’s averaging 10 points per game.
South Carolina has a regular-season meeting with UConn scheduled for Jan. 27 at Colonial Life Arena.
Next USC women’s basketball game
Who: South Carolina vs. UConn
When: Noon Monday
Where: Imperial Arena in Paradise Island, Bahamas
Watch: ESPN
This story was originally published November 21, 2021 at 4:21 PM.
