South Carolina blitzes Bama, grabs sole possession of 1st in SEC. What we learned
No. 1 South Carolina women’s basketball looked the part of nation’s top team as the Gamecocks claimed a dominant 83-51 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide on Thursday night at Colonial Life Arena.
With Tennessee’s loss to Florida earlier Thursday, South Carolina (21-1, 9-1 SEC) became the lone leader atop the SEC standings. The Gamecocks were previously tied with the Vols at No. 1 in the conference before Thursday’s games.
“You can’t get too comfortable in this league at all,” head coach Dawn Staley said after the game. “We’re not comfortable. We know who we play next, and we know who we have to finish out with. There are games we can we can lose, there’s no doubt about it.”
Alabama (11-10, 2-8 SEC) fell behind by double digits within the game’s first three minutes and failed to cut the deficit at any point throughout the contest.
Here’s what we learned about the Gamecocks.
Win places South Carolina at the top of the SEC
South Carolina took over the top placement in the SEC standings for the first time this season Thursday.
The Gamecocks had been working from behind in conference standings since their lone loss of 2021-22 in their first SEC game at Missouri on Dec. 30.
Tennessee held the top spot as it got off to a 7-0 start in league play, but the field was leveled when the Vols fell to Auburn last week for their first conference loss of the year. South Carolina is on a nine-game winning streak since the Mizzou loss, while the Vols dropped a second SEC game Thursday — an 84-59 loss to Florida.
“It feels good to be in the top spot in our league, Staley said. “It says a whole lot about this league, and if you’re the top team in this league, you can win a national championship.”
South Carolina has won five of the last eight SEC regular-season titles, most recently in the 2019-20 season. Tennessee comes to Colonial Life Arena on Feb. 20.
Efficient offense paves way to victory
South Carolina opened Thursday’s matchup against Alabama with its best offensive quarter of basketball this season and finished the first 20 minutes with its most productive half.
The Gamecocks scored 36 points in the first quarter, tying for their best single quarter in an SEC game. USC last scored 36 at Vanderbilt on Jan. 12, 2020. South Carolina shot 70% (14 of 20) from the field in the first 10 minutes, and veteran guard Zia Cooke played a key role, scoring 12 points on perfect 5 of 5 shooting in the first quarter.
“It was great to get Zia off to a good start,” Staley said. “I think she is always somewhat of an indicator of us playing well. If she gets off to a good start, it really just helps the rest of the team.”
The Gamecocks continued to see contributions from both starters and bench players throughout the second quarter, scoring a season-high 53 points before halftime.
Aliyah Boston (20 points) and Cooke (14 points) led scoring efforts for the Gamecocks. Freshmen Bree Hall and Saniya Rivers combined for 10 points in the first half, as Hall finished with nine points and Rivers finished with eight. Syracuse transfer Kamilla Cardoso added eight points and nine rebounds off the bench.
South Carolina continued to dominate down the stretch against Alabama, finishing with 83 points behind 53.2% (33 of 62) shooting. Alabama shot 27.3% (18 of 66) against the Gamecocks, with the majority of its production from senior Brittany Davis, who scored 20.
Aliyah Boston tallies 15th straight double-double
Boston, the Gamecocks’ star forward with National Player of the Year credentials, continued to build upon her stellar junior season, counting her 15th consecutive double-double against Alabama.
Boston left the game with 2:21 to go in the third quarter after scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. She also finished the Alabama game with six blocks.
Boston has already set the Gamecocks’ program record for consecutive double-doubles and is within four of the SEC record. LSU and WNBA great Sylvia Fowles counted 19 straight double-doubles in the 2005-06 season.
Next South Carolina women’s basketball game
Who: No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks (21-1, 9-1 SEC) vs. Kentucky Wildcats (9-9, 2-6 SEC)
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10
Where: Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky.
Watch: ESPN
This story was originally published February 3, 2022 at 8:44 PM.
