What we learned as No. 1 South Carolina outworks No. 17 Maryland for 25-point win
The No. 1 South Carolina women’s basketball team went into hostile territory and came away with an 81-56 road victory against No. 17 Maryland on Friday night.
Both teams brought physicality on the defensive side of the ball early in the game. Easy looks were hard to come by, with just one double-figure scorer in the game at halftime.
USC’s height advantage was apparent, with the Gamecocks out-rebounding Maryland 30-19 at halftime and 55-32 for the game.
“Rebounding is what we do,” head coach Dawn Staley said. “That is who we are, it’s something that we work on every single day. We know that creates separation for us.”
USC led by six points at the half before outscoring Maryland 49-30 in the second half for the 25-point win.
Zia Cooke led the Gamecocks in scoring with 18. Aliyah Boston was right behind her with a double-double (16 points and 13 rebounds).
“It took extra passes, extra ball movement, making sure that we’re crashing the boards,” Boston said. “I think we used that to our advantage tonight.”
Abby Meyers managed to find good looks throughout the game for Maryland and finished with 21 points.
South Carolina forced 13 turnovers and never trailed. The win marked Staley’s 100th at USC over a ranked opponent.
PHYSICALITY ON BOTH ENDS
The defensive intensity from both teams kept the first half low-scoring. Neither team shot better than 38% from the floor in the first half.
South Carolina picked up some offensive fouls going against Maryland’s defense at times, but was able to overpower the Terrapins with its size most of the game.
Things got chippy in the third quarter, with two players picking up technical fouls after a brief, on-court skirmish. South Carolina responded to it well, immediately scoring eight unanswered points.
“I just thought our players just came together, beared down and concentrated a little bit more,” Staley said.
The Gamecocks attempted 16 free throws by the end of the game.
HEIGHT ADVANTAGE
The Gamecocks towered over the Terrapins for most of the game.
The team looked for Boston and Kamilla Cardoso inside often, and they delivered with close shots at the rim.
Boston and Cardoso combined for 29 points on 13-of-15 shooting.
At one point, USC put Boston, Cardoso, Victaria Saxton and Laeticia Amihere on the court at the same time. Each of those players is at least 6-foot-2, with Cardoso standing the tallest at 6-7.
GAMECOCKS PASS EARLY TEST
South Carolina’s win over No. 17 Maryland showed its authority as the nation’s top team.
The Gamecocks won all 14 games against ranked opponents last season, and they opened this season with a blowout against a Top 25 opponent on the road.
USC beat Maryland in a close game last season. They led by double digits for most of the second half Friday. When it wasn’t tied, USC led the other 38:17 of the game.
Four players scored in double figures for South Carolina, and the team had 34 points from its bench.
The next ranked opponent the team will face is No. 2 Stanford on Nov. 20. That game is also on the road.
“It’s good for us to play against teams that are on their level, or even higher, because it helps us down the road,” Cooke said.
Next four USC WBB games on the schedule
▪ Thursday: at Clemson, 6 p.m. (ACC Network)
▪ Nov. 20: at Stanford, 3 p.m. (ABC)
▪ Nov. 22: at Cal Poly, 8 p.m.
▪ Nov. 27: home vs. Hampton, noon (SEC Network Plus)
This story was originally published November 11, 2022 at 8:02 PM.
