Hot-shooting Gamecocks earn convincing road win over Vanderbilt. What we learned
South Carolina left Nashville with its perfect record intact.
The No. 1 Gamecocks (19-0, 7-0 SEC) glided past Vanderbilt (9-11, 0-6 SEC) on Thursday with a 96-48 victory. It was the team’s fourth conference win with a margin of 30 points or more.
Both sides went back and forth in the opening minutes, but it didn’t take long for USC to pull away. The Gamecocks went on a 10-0 run to close the first quarter, leading 18-9 at that point.
South Carolina went up by double-digits two minutes into the second quarter and never led by fewer than 11 points the rest of the way.
The Gamecocks used their paint scoring, as they often do, to overwhelm Vanderbilt’s defense. South Carolina scored 60 points in the paint and shot 39 of 63 from the field overall.
“We have post players that are efficient,” head coach Dawn Staley told reporters after the game. “We knew coming into the game that we put a special emphasis on points in the paint. And we were concentrating on that.”
USC continued its nation-leading, shot-blocking ability, ending the game with 14 rejections.
Zia Cooke led the team in scoring for the ninth time this season with 17 points.
South Carolina will return home for its eighth SEC game of the season, facing Arkansas on Sunday in Colonial Life Arena.
ONE GAME AWAY
Aliyah Boston notched her 72nd career double-double, tying Sheila Foster for the most in program history. She recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes Thursday.
She’ll have a chance to break the record on Sunday, a record that’s stood for more than 40 years.
Scoring wasn’t an issue for Boston as she shot 8 of 8 from the floor. Boston’s offensive output came in a variety of ways, with post moves and midrange shots part of her repertoire.
“Aliyah’s just gonna take what the defense gives her,” Staley said. “At times, I thought today, she just went and got buckets.”
Boston has played in all 120 of her games at South Carolina, averaging a double-double in her career stats.
“I think when you can consistently play at a high level and create a high standard for yourself, that’s the better part,” Staley said. “That is who she is. Her consistency, her ability to always think of any situation that she’s in as a challenge. And she gets up for it.”
KIERRA FLETCHER’S ALL-AROUND PERFORMANCE
Graduate senior Kierra Fletcher left her imprint Thursday on both ends of the court.
She scored six points with some aggressive drives to the rim. Fletcher also secured five rebounds and blocked three shots.
Fletcher has been strong as a rebounder at the guard position, averaging 3.7 boards entering Thursday’s game.
The Georgia Tech transfer started in her 17th consecutive game for South Carolina against Vanderbilt. She and Raven Johnson have alternated at the point guard spot this season, using their own skill sets to impact games while on the court.
TALAYSIA COOPER SUSTAINS INJURY
Freshman guard Talaysia Cooper was inactive due to a lower right leg injury, the team announced on social media before the game. She is currently listed as “day to day.”
It was not immediately known if Cooper would be available for Sunday’s game against Arkansas.
Sophomore forward Sania Feagin missed her fourth straight game with her own leg injury. The team is hopeful she can return on Sunday.
NEXT FOUR SOUTH CAROLINA WBB GAMES
Sunday: home vs. Arkansas, 3 p.m. (ESPN2)
Jan. 29: at Alabama, 1 p.m. (ESPN2)
Feb. 2: home vs. Kentucky, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Feb. 5: at UConn, noon (Fox)
This story was originally published January 19, 2023 at 8:50 PM.
