Gamecocks ease past Gators to set up title shot at Tennessee

South Carolina didn’t get nearly enough from its guards in its last game, a loss to No. 1 Connecticut that snapped a 45-game home winning streak.

They took it personally.

The No. 2 Gamecocks’ guards scored 47 combined points in an 86-71 win over No. 16 Florida on Thursday, keeping USC (23-1, 11-0 SEC) atop the SEC and inching ever closer to its third straight regular-season championship. The Gamecocks can grab a share of it by winning Monday at No. 25 Tennessee, which would also give them a third straight No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament.

The win was a relief after an emotional loss to UConn and not knowing who would be available due to injuries. The Gamecocks were often out-paced by the Gators’ deeper bench, Florida’s transition and defense forcing USC into playing uncomfortably.

“Part of it is nobody’s ever played us full-court pressure, so it’s unfamiliar to us,” coach Dawn Staley said. “I liked our chances with how they had to come in and play to get the win versus ours.”

It wasn’t easy, the Gators’ deep bench and run-at-all-costs game plan giving USC all sorts of trouble. Florida (19-5, 7-4) forced a season-high 22 turnovers and flummoxed the Gamecocks all night with their press and their ability to deny A’ja Wilson and Alaina Coates the ball.

Coates still got a double-double, and Wilson had 13 points with nine rebounds and four blocks. But it was the guards who supplied the “big” offense, the points the Gamecocks absolutely had to have. Tiffany Mitchell finished with a game-high 22, while Doniyah Cliney shone in her first career start with 10 points.

A 16-0 second-quarter run had USC ahead to stay but the Gators never quit fighting. Even down 20 in the final minutes, Florida harassed and pushed USC into throwing the ball away and not getting into an offensive rhythm.

Cliney was starting her first game, Asia Dozier remained on the bench and Mitchell and Wilson were coming off recent bang-ups. Staley knew the Gators’ system would cause a lot of turnovers, but USC would also get a lot. She also knew the Gamecocks would shoot a lot of free throws (22-of-31).

She was OK with that, but it certainly prevented her from getting too hyped about what could happen Monday night. “Lot of holes in our team right now that I’d like for us to fix before we start to look at the numbers,” she said.

Cliney had seven turnovers despite her solid offense. The Gamecocks were throwing cross-court passes all evening, and Khadijah Sessions never got into the game due to fouls. She did her part by trying to foul out the entire Gators backcourt, Florida unable to spot the senior waiting for a charge, but she was held to six points.

Yet Mitchell took over once more when she had to, Coates and Wilson began finishing through contact and the Gamecocks got just enough from their others to survive. They probably won’t play another team like Florida the rest of the year.

But they still have to get themselves fixed up before they’ll talk championships.

“We’ll try to handle tonight first and probably look at Tennessee on Saturday,” Mitchell said.

TURNING POINT

Bianca Cuevas stroked a 3 and Mitchell found Coates for a bucket to make it 30-16 in the middle of the second quarter. The Gamecocks turned a three-point lead at the beginning of the period into a double-digit advantage the Gators couldn’t shed.

3 POINTS

Star of the game: Mitchell, after looking tentative early, became her usual fearless self in the second half. She ended with 22 with four assists, stroking all seven shots from the free-throw line.

Play of the game: Coates threw a 70-foot baseball pass that Mitchell ran under for an easy layup. That was one way to quit turning it over on the inbound pass.

Stat of the game: 21 assists on 28 field goals. Deprived of their bread-and-butter, the Gamecocks passed the ball around. Eight of nine players scored at least six points.

FROM THE BASELINE

Another DC: Cliney started so USC could better handle Florida’s speed, and while she had some yips (a couple of passes thrown into the seats), she made some big shots. She’s pretty quick, able to flash to the basket, and she buried a 3-pointer early in the game. It could really help if Sessions is in foul trouble and “Bad Bianca” shows up.

“Now I have a big role to play,” Cliney said. “The past couple of practices I’ve been working on my game and trying to avoid every little mistake I can. It’s my time now.”

It’s that time again: The Gamecocks are once again in position to win a conference championship. A win Monday gets a share, two more wins at any time gets it outright.

I know the Gamecocks don’t think about it, but it’d be pretty sweet to get it in Knoxville, where the former queens of the SEC play.

UP NEXT

Who: South Carolina at No. 25 Tennessee

When: 7 p.m. Monday

Where: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tenn.

TV: ESPN2

FLORIDA (19-5)

Lorenzen 6-7 0-0 12, Williams 3-12 0-0 7, Westbrook 2-11 0-0 5, Christinaki 1-6 1-2 4, Needles 0-3 0-0 0, Batchelor 7-12 3-4 19, Peoples 4-7 2-2 13, Miller 3-6 3-7 9, Fleming 1-1 0-0 2, Anderson 0-2 0-0 0, Copeland 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-69 9-15 71.

SOUTH CAROLINA (23-1)

Mitchell 6-15 7-7 22, Coates 7-8 0-2 14, Wilson 3-6 7-8 13, Cliney 3-5 3-4 10, Sessions 1-2 3-4 6, Roy 2-8 0-0 6, Imovbioh 3-5 0-2 6, White 2-3 2-4 6, Cuevas 1-5 0-0 3. Totals 28-57 22-31 86.

3-Point Goals_Florida 8-22 (Peoples 3-5, Batchelor 2-5, Williams 1-1, Christinaki 1-2, Westbrook 1-2, Miller 0-1, Copeland 0-2, Anderson 0-2, Needles 0-2), South Carolina 8-19 (Mitchell 3-6, Roy 2-8, Cuevas 1-1, Sessions 1-2, Cliney 1-2). Fouled Out_Christinaki, Fleming. Rebounds_Florida 30 (Williams 6), South Carolina 44 (Coates 11). Assists_Florida 15 (Christinaki 5), South Carolina 21 (Mitchell, Roy, Sessions 4). Total Fouls_Florida 29, South Carolina 17. Technicals_Florida Bench, Sessions. Attendance_13,324.

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 9:05 PM with the headline "Gamecocks ease past Gators to set up title shot at Tennessee."