Unranked and shorthanded Missouri stuns No. 1 Gamecocks

Lauren Hansen made a driving layup with 0.1 seconds left and Missouri stunned No. 1 South Carolina 70-69 in overtime Thursday night in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.

The Tigers (12-2) overcame the absence of scoring leader Aijha Blackwell and four other players to beat a No. 1 team for the first time in program history. It marked only the seventh time an unranked team has beaten the top-ranked team.

“Our team can learn from this and they listen the most after losses,” Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said.

South Carolina (12-1) was coming off its biggest comeback in school history, overcoming an 18-point deficit to beat No. 2 Stanford last Tuesday. On Thursday night, the Tigers always had an answer when the Gamecocks cut it close.

Hansen and Hayley Frank each scored 21 points, LaDazhia Williams added 12, and Mama Dembele had 11. The Gamecocks trailed by as many as six in final three minutes of regulation.

“This is a huge win for us and I couldn’t be more proud,” Missouri coach Robin Pingleton said. “The grit they showed and the belief. Their ability to play through tough possessions and different players stepped up at different times.”

The last time the Gamecocks lost a regular-season SEC game against an unranked team was to Missouri back in 2017. The Gamecocks are 8-4 against the Tigers all time — with all four losses coming at Mizzou Arena.

Missouri led 33-26 at halftime. Their zone defense held South Carolina to 38.2% shooting on the night.

The Gamecocks opened overtime with a 5-0 start via a Boston 3-pointer and Victaria Saxton basket. Missouri then closed on a 6-0 run, fueled by two Hansen layups.

Boston led the Gamecocks with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Kamilla Cardoso added 14, and Zia Cooke had 10 points on 4 of 19 shooting. Destanni Henderson scored 7 points on 2 of 12 from the floor.

BIG PICTURE

South Carolina: Boston couldn’t quite get it going in the first half, which proved costly for the Gamecocks. They’ll have a week to regroup before their next game.

Missouri: This is potentially their biggest win in program history and they did it playing just seven players. For a team picked 10th in the preseason poll in the SEC, the Tigers appear to be a much more lethel group in the conference and maybe even the nation.

Next South Carolina basketball game

Who: USC at LSU

When: 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 6

Where: Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.

Watch: SEC Network Plus

This story was originally published December 30, 2021 at 9:12 PM.