No. 1 USC begins SEC road swing with hard-fought win over Mississippi State
No. 1 South Carolina pulled away from Mississippi State in a defensive battle Sunday, with the Gamecocks earning a 58-51 road win.
The Bulldogs (12-5, 1-3 SEC) led at the Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville after the first quarter, staying aggressive offensively and driving the ball to the rim early on. Ten of the team’s first 11 points came in the paint, an area that’s been virtually impenetrable for South Carolina’s opponents this year.
The Gamecocks (16-0, 4-0 SEC) began to turn the game in their favor in the second quarter. USC went on a 10-2 run to open the frame, capped off by a Zia Cooke 3-pointer that gave USC its first lead, 22-21.
South Carolina picked up its offensive productivity in the second quarter and went into halftime leading 32-26.
The teams went back and forth in the third quarter. South Carolina got out to its biggest lead of the game (nine points), but Mississippi State went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to one. USC managed to score the last six points of the quarter to extend the lead to six heading into the fourth quarter.
South Carolina led by five with 2:37 remaining in the game, and senior guard Brea Beal knocked down a clutch 3-pointer to extend the lead to eight. The Gamecocks led for the entirety of the second half.
Aliyah Boston recorded her 69th career double-double — and her first in SEC play this season — with 12 points and 15 rebounds. She also set the school record for the most career rebounds in conference play, passing Alaina Coates with 607 boards in SEC games.
“I’m really just trying to stay poised during it all,” Boston said. “Super excited that I got the double-double today, but it’s just more important that we got the win.”
South Carolina will continue its two-game road trip on Thursday when it faces the Kentucky Wildcats.
RAVEN JOHNSON RUNS FREE
South Carolina’s redshirt freshman provided productive minutes off the bench Sunday.
Johnson scored seven of USC’s 20 points in the second quarter, which helped the team get the advantage going into the break. Coming off an injury suffered last season, she played with a knee brace for the first eight games of this year. She stopped using that brace last month and has looked progressively more comfortable since.
“I don’t think it’s about the knee anymore,” head coach Dawn Staley said. “I think it’s more about her getting more and more experience.”
Johnson provided a lift on both sides of the ball, turning steals into offense in the 22 minutes she played Sunday.
She left the game in the fourth quarter, accidentally taking a knee to the back of the head after a steal, with Staley saying after the game that “she’s fine.”
Johnson finished the game with seven points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
“We don’t hesitate to put Raven in,” Staley said. “We know what type of player she is. And it was great to have her step in and give us the boost and energy that we needed to get back in the game.”
ANOTHER DEFENSIVE BATTLE
Both teams came into the game as two of the country’s top-11 scoring defenses. For USC’s offense, which scored 80 or more points eight times this season, Sunday’s Mississippi State effort resulted in a season-low 58 points.
“Prepping for a team like that, you know it’s gonna be an intense game,” Boston said. “It’s gonna be physical. So just being mentally ready for that.”
The Gamecocks shot their lowest field goal percentage of the season against Mississippi State at 30.3%. The team did its best to stay aggressive on offense, however. USC secured 24 free throw attempts and made 14 of them.
“We know the physicality’s coming,” Boston said. “Coach (Staley) says, ‘Go make a play,’ and that’s what you have to do. So that’s what we were doing.”
On the other end, South Carolina held Mississippi State to its second-lowest scoring output of the early SEC season.
The Bulldogs’ leading scorer and rebounder — Jessika Carter — was a non-factor for most of the game. She managed to get going in the fourth quarter, but was held to 11 points on the day.
“We just wanted to limit her production,” Staley said. “If she’s able to have what she had in the fourth quarter throughout the game, we probably wouldn’t be sitting here as the winning team.”
Sunday was the second time in three games the Gamecocks were held to a low-scoring offensive performance. The team scored 68 points against Georgia on Monday but shot 44% from the field. USC entered Sunday’s game after a 94-point performance in a win against Auburn, and a scoring average of 82.4 points per game this season.
Scoring was more of a challenge in Starkville, but the team has grown accustomed to those types of efforts from opposing teams in the SEC.
“There’s no role for us to have mental breakdowns or mental mistakes because people will make us pay for it,” Staley said.
SANIA FEAGIN OUT
Sania Feagin missed Sunday’s game due to a right lower leg injury, the team announced. Staley said the sophomore forward is “day-to-day” and no time for a return is known.
“We’re gonna be cautious to allow her to heal at her own pace,” Staley said. “But if I know Sania Feagin, she’s gonna want to get back out there.”
Feagin is averaging 7.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 13 games for the Gamecocks this season. She also adds to the team’s blocks per game efforts, averaging 1.2 rejections of her own.
NEXT FOUR SOUTH CAROLINA WBB GAMES
Thursday: at Kentucky, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Jan. 15: home vs. Missouri, 1 p.m. (ESPN)
Jan. 19: at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Jan. 22: home vs. Arkansas, 3 p.m. (SEC Network or ESPN2)
This story was originally published January 8, 2023 at 2:55 PM.
