South Carolina women's basketball beats Georgia, sets SEC consecutive wins record

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It wasn’t the blowout most expected, but South Carolina pulled away from Georgia in the fourth quarter for a 70-56 win to set the SEC record for consecutive conference wins.

South Carolina won its 43rd consecutive regular-season SEC game, breaking a tie with the 1991-95 Tennessee team. The win also put South Carolina one game away from another SEC championship.

“This team has done some great things. They’re young and they’re still figuring things out, but they’re finding a way to win,” Dawn Staley said. “I’m just proud of the former players and the current players to put together some of the most historical stretches in this league.”

MiLaysia Fulwiley came off the bench to spark a 9-3 run to end the third quarter. She rebounded her own miss and drew a foul, making both free throws to break a 41-41 tie. Fulwiley forced a turnover and set up Ashlyn Watkins for a layup. Moments later she forced another turnover that led to a Raven Johnson basket, and then Fulwiley found Chloe Kitts for a transition layup.

South Carolina still only led by six after three quarters. Te-Hina Paopao hit back-to-back three midway through the fourth quarter to give South Carolina a double-digit lead, and Georgia ran out of gas.

Georgia’s 2-3 matchup zone defense gave South Carolina problems throughout the game, but particularly in the first half. Despite having a decisive advantage inside, South Carolina was content to shoot threes instead of working the ball into the post.

“I thought our defense was really, really good,” Katie Abrahamson-Henderson said.  “(In the third quarter) We were taking quick shots and turning it over and they were going in transition.”

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The Gamecocks shot just 10-25 in the first half and had only eight two-point attempts. In the third quarter, South Carolina attempted just two three-pointers, and the halftime message was clearly to get the ball in the paint.

“We had to flip it,” Staley said.

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“Coach told us to be smart and be disciplined,” Fulwiley said. “We were going out there making things harder than they need to be.”

South Carolina scored 24 of its 32 points in the paint in the second half, and hit 9-12 from the foul line. South Carolina finished the game shooting 43.9% and 9-27 from three, a season high for attempts. Georgia shot 37.5%.

The Gamecocks’ starting frontcourt took over in the second half. Kamilla Cardoso had 12 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and two steals in the second half alone. Kitts had 10 points, six rebounds and an assist.

Cardoso finished with 16 points, tied her career-high with 16 rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and three steals. Kitts had 12 points and seven rebounds.

“We were talking before (Staley) came in saying we need to get the ball in, get the ball out, and then get the ball in,” Kitts said. “We shot (17) threes at halftime and that’s a lot of threes.”

Paopao added 15 points and hit 5-11 from three. Bree Hall and Raven Johnson each had nine points. Fulwiley only had four points, but she tied for the team lead with five assists.

As bad as South Carolina was offensively in the first half, the Gamecocks were even worse defensively, allowing Javyn Nicholson to get whatever shot she wanted. Nicholson scored 18 of her career-high 27 points. Nicholson also had 12 rebounds.

Georgia went on a 17-2 run spanning the first and second quarters to take a lead. South Carolina briefly re-took the lead, but then went scoreless over the final 4:29 of the first half. Georgia finished on a 9-0 run to take a 35-28 halftime lead.

“We took the bait. All open shots aren’t good shots,” Staley said. “It took us a while to understand what they were doing even though we tried to prep over the past two days.”

Notes:

Steve and Jeri Spurrier attended the game and sat behind the Gamecock bench. The Spurriers were early supporters of Dawn Staley and frequently attended game back when only a few thousand fans showed up. … Kelsey Plum, the Las Vegas Aces star and the NCAA’s second all-time leading scorer, attended the game. No word if A’ja Wilson played a role in her attendance. … Sahnya Jah remains out indefinitely. … South Carolina struggled so much in the first half that Staley put in Sakima Walker hoping for a spark. Walker had a turnover in three minutes. … Both teams committed 18 turnovers. South Carolina had 23 points off and Georgia had 19 points off. … With a win on Thursday or LSU loss on Monday, South Carolina will clinch its eighth SEC regular season championship and third straight. … Dawn Staley’s outfit: Staley wore a black sweatshirt with a white design on the front. … Announced attendance was 18,478. It is officially the largest crowd in Colonial Life Arena history. … South Carolina’s next game is Thursday against Alabama.

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