No. 1 South Carolina dominates in second half to win over Texas A&M. What we learned
No. 1 South Carolina women’s basketball (16-1, 4-1 SEC) rode second-half improvements to another SEC win, this time over the Texas A&M Aggies (10-6, 0-4 SEC) in a 65-45 decision Thursday night at Colonial Life Arena.
Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair, who is set to retire at the end of the season, received a gift basket from South Carolina’s Dawn Staley before he coached his last game in Columbia. With Thursday’s loss to South Carolina, Blair’s Aggies are off to a winless start in conference play.
“(South Carolina) is the best team in the country,” Blair said after the game. “I said, ‘Let’s try to stay with them to halftime, somehow, someway.’ We fought, we scratched. We found a way to do it. But eventually, Dawn made some adjustments.”
Here’s what we learned about the Gamecocks.
Gamecocks lock in second half once again
South Carolina got off to a rocky start Thursday night but proceeded to lock in during the second half, furthering a trend the Gamecocks have seen pop up multiple times throughout the 2021-22 season.
The Gamecocks used a 21-10 advantage in the third quarter to solidify a win that seemed less certain when USC led 26-24 at halftime. South Carolina continued its dominance in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Aggies 18-11.
South Carolina shot 42.4% from the field (14-33) in the second half, improving from its 29% mark in the first two quarters. The scoring effort was led by Gamecocks starters Aliyah Boston (19 points), Destanni Henderson (15 points), Victaria Saxton (10 points) and Zia Cooke (10 points).
The Gamecocks dominated on the glass once again, out-rebounding the Aggies 53-31 and scoring 31 second-chance points off of 26 offensive boards.
“I thought just being aggressive, even if we didn’t make shots at the basket, it afforded us to get rebounds, kick-outs, rhythm threes,” Staley said after the game. “Henny hit a couple of them, Zia got going a little bit, and Aliyah’s good at basketball. She delivers.”
Texas A&M was led in scoring by Qadashah Hoppie (15 points) and Kayla Wells (11 points). Jada Malone added four points and nine rebounds.
USC cold start keeps the matchup close early
The Gamecocks went into halftime shooting 29% (10 of 35) from the field.
Boston accounted for six of USC’s made shots, going 6 of 11 in the first half, while the rest of the Gamecocks shot a combined 4-24.
South Carolina still went into the locker room with an advantage, though it was a slim 26-24 lead after being outscored in the second quarter 13-9. The Gamecocks’ nine-point second quarter tied its lowest-scoring effort of the 2021-22 season, when they scored nine in the second quarter of the season opener at N.C. State.
“I just said to them that we’ve just got to hit shots,” Staley said. “I don’t think we were taking terrible shots. They just didn’t go in. We just had to believe if you continue to take good shots, they’re gonna go in.”
Cooke reverted back to a shooting slump for the first half, going 0 for 9 from the field and scoring one point off a free throw.
Texas A&M shot 35% (9 of 26) in the first half and were uncharacteristically cold from behind the arc, going just 1 of 5 in the first half from 3-point range. Hoppie and Wells led the Aggies in scoring in the first half, scoring eight and six points respectively.
Aliyah Boston records program record 10th consecutive double-double
Boston came out to another fierce start, tallying eight points and five rebounds in her first eight minutes on the floor during the first quarter.
Returning to action in the second quarter, Boston built her 10th consecutive double-double with 3:21 left in the first half, recording 15 points and 10 rebounds by that point.
Boston’s ninth straight double-double recorded in the Gamecocks’ last matchup against Kentucky was good to tie the program record, but notching a 10th in a row gave her the record individually.
Boston finished the game with 19 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and one steal, leading the Gamecocks in scoring and rebounding.
“You look at things that come off the page, she makes shots, she talks,” Staley said. “But it is that when her back is against the wall, she continues to fight through. I saw that at a very young age in her.”
Next South Carolina women’s basketball game
Who: No. 1 South Carolina (16-1, 4-1 SEC) vs. Arkansas (11-5, 1-2 SEC)
When: Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
Where: Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark.
This story was originally published January 13, 2022 at 8:51 PM.
