No. 1 South Carolina fends off Florida in Gainesville. What we learned
The No. 1 South Carolina women’s basketball team used a strong first half to defeat the Florida Gators 62-50 Sunday in Gainesville.
The Gators (15-6, 5-3 SEC) were on a five-game win streak as they welcomed South Carolina to Exactech Arena. Before Sunday, Florida had moved up to No. 4 in the SEC standings with wins over three ranked opponents, including then-No. 25 Texas A&M, then-No. 23 Kentucky and then-No. 11 LSU.
The Gamecocks (20-1, 8-1 SEC) extended their own win streak in SEC play to eight games. Aliyah Boston (13 points) and Zia Cooke (11 points) led the scoring effort for the Gamecocks. Kiara Smith scored 22 for Florida.
Here’s what we learned about the Gamecocks.
First-half dominance leads to another SEC victory
South Carolina’s defensive power was immediately on display Sunday. Florida ended the first half with 13 points — the lowest single-half score for a USC opponent this season.
Florida averaged 75 points in its first seven SEC games of the season and were held to 50 against South Carolina.
The Gators were held to 31% shooting and missed their first 12 shots of the game, finishing the first quarter with 3 points. In the first quarter, Florida went 1 of 19 from the field and made 1 of 4 attempts from the free-throw line in the first 10 minutes. The Gators finished the first half shooting 4 of 30 from the field.
“Some of it was us, and some of it was just they missed easy shots,” head coach Dawn Staley said after the game. “You’re not gonna take credit for all of it. ... I thought our defense was there. I thought we made them adjust a little bit, made them play a little bit faster than they wanted to play. It’s simply that and them missing easy shots. It’s a combination that’s gonna favor the defensive team.”
South Carolina established itself in the paint on both ends of the court, outscoring Florida 34-30 in the area. The Gamecocks out-rebounded the Gators 56-28.
Florida made a strong push in the second half, outscoring South Carolina 37-29 in the last two periods, but the Gamecocks’ 20-point lead at the half was too steep for the Gators to overcome. South Carolina once led by 28 before winning by 12.
“I thought we did a great job in the first half controlling the amount of times they got in the paint,” Staley said. “Then in the second half, they made adjustments at halftime, and Kiara (Smith) got off a little bit more. When she gets going, everybody else seems to get it going.”
Despite the strong start, South Carolina turned the ball over 21 times and went cold offensively at the end of the game, making just 2 of its last 10 shots from the field.
“There are other things that we do besides score the basketball,” Staley said. “Defend is one of them, and that’s going to give you a shot to win when you have a shooting night like we had and a night in which we turned the ball over 21 times.”
USC bench continues to develop
South Carolina continued to see production from its bench against Florida, as Staley manages a fully healthy roster in SEC play.
The Gamecocks’ bench had already been receiving more minutes throughout the last two games and saw their contributions grow. South Carolina’s bench averaged 33.5 points on 53.3% shooting against Vanderbilt and Ole Miss.
Experienced reserve Laeticia Amihere led the effort from the Gamecocks’ bench, finishing with eight points.
South Carolina’s bench scored 25 of its 62 points against Florida, with newcomers Kamilla Cardoso (four points, four rebounds), Sania Feagin (four points, two rebounds), Saniya Rivers (four points, one rebound) and Bree Hall (two points, two rebounds) all getting involved.
Aliyah Boston’s double-double streak continues
Aliyah Boston extended her streak of consecutive double-doubles to 14 at Florida, reaching the milestone with 9:01 to go in the third quarter.
Boston finished the game as South Carolina’s leader in points and rebounds with 13 points and 19 boards. She also added three blocks and a steal.
Boston, who has already set the Gamecocks’ program record for consecutive double-doubles, is within five of the SEC record. LSU and WNBA great Sylvia Fowles holds the current record at 19 straight double-doubles, which she completed during the 2005-06 season.
Next South Carolina women’s basketball game
Who: No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks (19-1, 7-1 SEC) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (11-8, 2-6 SEC)
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.
This story was originally published January 30, 2022 at 1:59 PM.
