No. 1 South Carolina WBB turns away Tennessee in Knoxville to stay perfect
South Carolina went to Rocky Top and played in one of its hardest-fought games of the season.
The Gamecocks exchanged leads with the Lady Vols over a dozen times and trailed at the half. But a small contingency of USC fans started a “Game! Cocks!” chant with 4:30 remaining in the game, feeding off their team’s then-57-51 lead.
UT fans made their way toward the exits along to a “U-S-C!” chant from Gamecocks fans with 1:21 left in the fourth quarter.
No. 1 South Carolina defeated Tennessee 66-55 Thursday night at Thompson-Boling Arena. The game was tied at 48 after three quarters. USC outscored the Lady Vols 18-7 in the final period to tie the SEC regular season wins record with 42 straight.
The Gamecocks returned to their usual starting lineup of Kamilla Cardoso, Chloe Kitts, Te-Hina Paopao, Raven Johnson and Bree Hall. Two USC players finished with double-digit points: Ashlyn Watkins (14) and Cardoso (18).
“We don’t win the game without Kamilla tonight,” coach Dawn Staley said. “I thought she did a great job establishing herself early in transition. She was rim running. We got her the ball. We probably should have gotten her the ball a lot more in the first and second quarter. But we didn’t, and that’s what halftime’s for. Came back out, and we made sure she got touches. And that was the difference-maker in the game.”
USC (24-0, 11-0 SEC) returns home to host Georgia and ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Sunday.
Shooting, turnover woes
The Gamecocks struggled to get anything going early on offense. Partly because they kept giving possessions away, and partly because shots were not falling.
South Carolina had nine turnovers at halftime, on pace to match their SEC season-high of 18 turnovers previously done at Florida to open conference play. Four of those first half turnovers belonged to starting forward Kitts. The Lady Vols converted those into eight points.
The Gamecocks tidied up in the second half and didn’t turn the ball over once in the third quarter.
USC got 30 shots off in the first half compared with UT’s 42. Neither team shot particularly well, with field goal percentages of 33.3% and 31%, respectively. But the Gamecocks, who averaged 16.7 3-point attempts per game heading into Thursday night, took just four shots from the perimeter in the first half and made one.
The Gamecocks ended the night having shot 40% (22.2%, 2-of-9, from 3 and 22-of-40 on layups).
Overpowered in the paint
A hallmark of South Carolina women’s basketball is dominance in the paint. But Tennessee kept it close with USC, tying the Gamecocks’ 18 points in the paint through two quarters. Heading into Thursday night’s game, South Carolina outscored opponents in the paint by an average of 25.8 points (24.2 in SEC play).
The Gamecocks also lost the rebounding battle in the first half 23-27. USC entered the game with the fourth-best rebounding margin in the nation at plus-13.1 per game.
Johnson had another great night on the boards, leading the team and tying her career high (set last game versus UConn) of 12 rebounds in the third quarter and setting a new personal best of 15 in the game.
USC ended the game with 49 rebounds to UT’s 42 and 48 points in the paint to Tennessee’s 30.
Ashlyn Watkins, Kamilla Cardoso and the bench dominate
After starting in South Carolina’s previous four games and impressing Staley, Watkins returned to her usual role of sixth woman against Tennessee on Thursday night. Cardoso made her return after missing two games last week for an Olympic Qualifying Tournament with Brazil Basketball.
Both players were the highlights in an otherwise tumultuous night for USC.
Watkins continued her trend of filling up the box score, recording stats in every major category for the Gamecocks. She flexed her defensive prowess, recording three steals, one block and 10 rebounds. But she also provided some juice on offense, muscling her way to the basket for 14 points.
Cardoso picked up right where she left off, scoring 18 and snagging 10 rebounds for USC. She also recorded three blocks.
USC’s bench also outscored UT’s 29-7.
Next four South Carolina women’s basketball games
- Sunday: vs. Georgia, 1 p.m. (ABC)
- Feb. 22: vs. Alabama, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 25: at Kentucky, 3 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 29: at Arkansas, 9 p.m. (SEC Network)
This story was originally published February 15, 2024 at 8:59 PM.
