South Carolina women's basketball: Gamecocks pull away from Clemson in the fourth quarter

South Carolina used a 10-0 fourth-quarter run to pull away from pesky Clemson for a 65-37 win.

South Carolina entered the game averaging over 100 points and shooting over 61% from the floor. With an undersized lineup that has just one starter over 5-10, Clemson knew it couldn’t beat South Carolina in a track meet.

“They’re unbelievable in transition,” Shawn Poppie said. “We tried to tag their wings to keep that ball from throwing ahead and make them play in halfcourt. (…) It’s not somewhere they had to play a lot in the first two games, so it’s new to them.

The Tigers successfully took the air out of the ball. On offense, they ran the shot clock down, forcing the bigger Gamecocks to chase their guards around the three-point line until somebody popped open for a three.

33 of Clemson’s 61 shot attempts came from behind the arc, but the Tigers only made five three-pointers (15.2%). They shot 9-28 from two.

Defensively, Clemson conceded rebounds in order to get back and stop South Carolina’s fast break. South Carolina averaged 34.5 fast break points per game in first two games, but had just seven on Tuesday.

South Carolina helped Clemson with an undisciplined half-court offense. The Gamecocks struggled with spacing, long jump shots, early shots, and lazy passes. 

“Our offense is what forced us to have to play defense for a long time,” Dawn Staley said. “We took ill-advised shots, quick shots, no reversals. If you’re going to play that way, you’re going to have to play defense for a very long time.”

“I think it was a little bit of us being tired and still getting the chemistry with each other and being able to adjust quicker,” Tessa Johnson said.

It ended up being a freshman who shook the Gamecocks out of their lull. South Carolina led just 45-35 after three quarters and had gone nearly seven minutes without a basket. Agot Makeer had the ball on the left elbow, looking to initiate the offense. Her defender backed off, and Makeer swished the spot-up three. That sparked the decisive run, and South Carolina clamped down defensively. 

“We gave them a run there for three quarters, and we ran out of gas,” Poppie said.

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“We had a good group that was disciplined,” Staley said. “Sometimes you go an entire game and one group is more linked and connected. That group that was out there was very predictable. They were linked in together.”

The Gamecocks finally made the necessary defensive adjustments. Clemson scored just two points in the fourth quarter: a pair of free throws by Demeara Hinds. The Tigers went 0-17 from the floor and 0-9 from three.

“It was just discipline and communicating on the switch,” Joyce Edwards said. “Just maintaining rotation.”

Edwards, the Palmetto State native, was dominant from the opening tip. She scored the first basket of each half and had nine points in the first quarter alone. When Dawn Staley took her out for rest late in the frame, Edwards was outscoring Clemson 9-7.

Edwards finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, plus three blocks and two assists. 

Madina Okot added 12 points and 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Tessa Johnson added 13 points and three assists. Ta’Niya Latson had trouble finding her shot, but finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.

Taylor Johnson-Matthews led Clemson with nine points. Hinds had eight points and eight rebounds. 

South Carolina announced before the game that sophomore guard Maddy McDaniel was suspended and would not be at the game. Staley declined to say why McDaniel is suspended. She does not expect McDaniel to play on Saturday, and there is no timetable for her return.

“Doubt it,” Staley said. “That’s on her. We evaluate it every day.”

The backup point guard also missed the game against Bowling Green after suffering a knee injury in the first half against Grand Canyon. McDaniel was in uniform against Bowling Green and went through warmups with a brace on her right knee, but did not play.

Notes:

There were multiple clock issues in the first half, when the clock froze or turned off entirely. None were noticed by the officials. … South Carolina women’s basketball got its 300th win at Colonial Life Arena. The first was against Clemson on November 22, 2002. … Makeer finished with six points and four rebounds. … South Carolina finished plus-17 rebounding and plus-14 on second-chance points. … South Carolina shot 44.8% for the game, the first time it has shot under 60% this season. They were 5-8 from three. … Dawn Staley’s outfit: Staley wore an unzipped garnet hoodie over a white t-shirt. … Announced attendance was 16,623. … South Carolina’s next game is on Saturday against Southern Cal in Los Angeles.

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