WBB: South Carolina rolls Alabama
South Carolina started fast and dominated Alabama for an 83-51 victory.
Alabama was undersized and overmatched, but the onus was on South Carolina to take advantage. And they left no doubt. Victaria Saxton won the opening tip and it took just seven seconds for Aliyah Boston to post up and score off a pass from Destanni Henderson.
Zia Cooke scored the next seven for the Gamecocks, including a steal and layup that forced the Crimson Tide to call a timeout, down 9-2 just 1:35 into the game. Cooke scored 12 of her 14 points in the first quarter, her most since scoring 19 against Kentucky, and the Gamecocks scored 36 points. It was their highest scoring quarter of the season and second highest-scoring quarter ever.
“Our starters really know how we need to play. It was great to get Zia off to a good start. She is always somewhat of an indicator of us playing well,” Dawn Staley said. “We’re happy that she’s shaking that monkey off her back.”
Following the first quarter offensive clinic, the second quarter was a defensive clinic. South Carolina held Alabama to five points on 1-16 shooting and blocked five shots. South Carolina led by 29 at halftime, and the only drama left was whether Boston would get her 15th consecutive double-double.
Of course she did, pulling down her tenth rebound with 2:55 left in the third quarter. Boston finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, six blocks, and three assists in only 23 minutes. She had just one turnover, coming right before she checked out of the game for the last time.
Photo Gallery by Katie Dugan
Staley was concerned about whether the Gamecocks’ bigs would be able to chase around the Crimson Tide’s small, four-guard lineup, but it wasn’t an issue. Behind Boston and Kamilla Cardoso, the Gamecocks locked up the paint and controlled the game flow. Cardoso nearly finished with her own double-double, going for eight points, nine rebounds, and a season-high five blocked shots.
“The way Kamilla played today was what we envisioned. Probably not every game, but close to that,” Staley said. “She was all over the place. She blocked shots. She took six shots. That is the thing that jumps off the page for me. We need her to take ten shots.”
As a team, South Carolina outrebounded Alabama 46-34, had 14 offensive rebounds (and 17 points off) despite missing just 29 shots. South Carolina blocked 15 shots, an SEC season-high and one behind the overall season-high, and held Alabama to 27.3% shooting while hitting 53.2%.
“We know we have to trust each other and play together as one and not be selfish with the ball,” said Saxton, who tied her career-high with four assists. “Move the ball a lot and let the ball find the open person.”
South Carolina cut its turnovers by a third, from 21 at Florida to 14 Thursday night, with six coming in the fourth quarter when the backups were in the game. The careless turnovers that drove Staley crazy against Florida were gone.
“I thought our turnovers were different turnovers,” Staley said. “We can live with them. “
Notes:
Prior to the game a moment of silence was held for former Gamecock Cheslie Kryst. … Gamecock great Tyasha Harris was at the game and was recognized during a timeout. … Boston’s double-double was her tenth in SEC play, tying Alaina Coates for the school record. … Between the third and fourth quarters, Beverly Smith introduced the softball team for the T-shirt toss. … South Carolina is now 20-0 against Alabama under Staley. The 20 game winning streak is the second longest in program history over any opponent (21, SC State). … All 15 Gamecocks played. Staley twice subbed out all five players, giving the Gamecocks an almost literal first, second, and third team. … Alabama went 5-20 from three. South Carolina was 5-14. … Brittany Davis had 20 points for the Tide. JaMya Mingo-Young had 11 rebounds. … Announced attendance was 11,875. … South Carolina is off Sunday (the original date of the rescheduled Mississippi State game), and returns to action next Thursday at Kentucky.
