No. 1 Gamecocks muscle past No. 21 Kentucky. What we learned
No. 1 South Carolina women’s basketball imposed its will early in a 74-54 win over the No. 21 Kentucky Wildcats Sunday afternoon at Colonial Life Arena.
While the Gamecocks (15-1, 3-1 SEC) had gotten off to a slow start in their previous win over LSU in Baton Rouge, they did the opposite at home against Kentucky (8-4, 1-1 SEC), using a dominant second quarter to sail to their third consecutive SEC win with ease.
Aliyah Boston finished with her ninth straight double-double of the season, tallying over 10 points and 10 rebounds by the third quarter. She finished the game with 18 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks.
“I was sleepless last night thinking about how you can defend Aliyah Boston,” Kentucky head coach Kyra Elzy said after the game. “Obviously, she’s very skilled around the basket, but she can step out. You have to bring so much attention to her.”
Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard, a projected top pick in this season’s WNBA Draft, was held to just nine points on 2 of 14 shooting. The Wildcats were led in scoring by Robyn Benton, who scored 11, and Jazmine Massengill, Dre’una Edwards and Treasure Hunt, who each scored 10.
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said after the game that Howard demands attention, and the Gamecocks were able to take options away from her in Sunday’s win.
“If we could contest all of her shots, if we could just be there when she went downhill on us in the paint, and make her shoot over us, that’s we wanted to do,” Staley said. “She can create space. She can flat out score, there’s no doubt about it.”
Here’s what we learned about the Gamecocks.
Zia Cooke leads solid offensive effort for Gamecocks
Zia Cooke had plenty to celebrate on her birthday Sunday, scoring 19 points on 8 of 15 shooting to continue building upon offensive improvement in SEC play.
Cooke, who had gone through a brief scoring slump in the Gamecocks’ wins over Duke and Stanford, averaged 15 points per game in conference play heading into Sunday’s game.
Cooke led the Gamecocks in scoring — the team finished 44.9% from the field (31 of 69). Four South Carolina players scored in double figures Sunday, including Cooke, Boston (18 points), Victaria Saxton (12 points) and Destanni Henderson (10 points).
“When Zia plays well, it just raises the level of our entire team,” Staley said. “Some players have that impact, and she is that for us.”
Kentucky shot just 29.6% from the field on 21 of 71 shooting.
Gamecocks lock down in second quarter
South Carolina had trouble defending Kentucky’s 3-point shots in the first quarter and ended the first quarter knotted with the Wildcats at 18 all.
The Gamecocks assumed full control in the second quarter and went into the locker room with a 41-27 advantage at halftime.
South Carolina outscored the Wildcats 23-9, carried a 15-7 advantage on the boards (including five on the offensive end) and saw 11 of its 22 shots fall into the basket, compared with a 4 of 14 shooting output from Kentucky.
The Gamecocks scored 20 of their 23 points in the paint in the second quarter, finding much of their success through veteran starters Saxton (six points, five rebounds), Cooke (four points) and Henderson (four points, one assist).
Dominance in the paint makes the difference
The Gamecocks asserted their dominance in the paint once again, scoring 54 points in the paint against Kentucky. USC entered the game averaging 36.5 points in the area for 50.8% of their total offense.
The Gamecocks held Kentucky to just 22 points in that area.
South Carolina also continued to see its success come through its post players, with Boston and Saxton each scoring in double figures. Reserve Kamilla Cardoso contributed four points and five rebounds in her first game back after missing the trip to LSU, while freshman Sania Feagin contributed three rebounds.
USC also continued to dominate on the glass, out-rebounding Kentucky 55-37.
“We are a rebounding team,” Staley said. “We are, for the most part, a paint-dominant team, especially when we make layups, when we’ve got our guards just driving downhill (and) when we’ve got our post players, who are always pretty efficient. I’m really happy that we’re being more aggressive.”
Next South Carolina women’s basketball game
Who: No. 1 South Carolina (15-1, 3-1 SEC) vs. Texas A&M (10-4, 0-2 SEC)
When: Thursday at 7 p.m.
Where: Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.
Watch: SEC Network
This story was originally published January 9, 2022 at 2:46 PM.
