Gamecocks Score 20th Win, 69-55 Over Alabama
TUSCALOOSA,
Ala. – No. 25 South Carolina collected its 20th win of the season with
a 69-55 decision over Alabama Sunday afternoon at Foster Auditorium.
The Gamecocks (20-7, 9-5 SEC) took a 12-point lead into the locker room
at halftime and survived a sloppy second half for both teams. La’Keisha
Sutton led the way with 13 points, all in the second half, and a
career-high tying seven rebounds. South Carolina shot a season-high
55.6 percent from the field and added 14 free throws to the scoring
effort.
South Carolina played from the outside in in the first
half, as Markeshia Grant scored 11 of the team’s first 15 points before
the posts took over to net 15 of the remaining 23 to give the Gamecocks
a 38-26 halftime lead. The Crimson Tide won the battle of the boards in
the first 20 minutes, 21-18, but the Gamecocks left few rebounds out
there, hitting 51.7 percent from the field, including 3-of-5 from
3-point range.
The first half was decided by a 21-6 run that
turned a 9-8 Gamecock lead at the 12:12 mark into a 32-16 advantage
seven minutes later. Grant sparked the surge with back-to-back
3-pointers from the right corner. Meghan Perkins drove the baseline,
hoping to prevent a significant run, but the Gamecocks were aggressive
on both sides of the ball and would not be denied. Aleighsa Welch
followed an Ebony Wilson offensive rebound with a drive through the
lane and completed a traditional three-point play. Her rebound on the
defensive end set up Ieasia Walker’s transition attempt, on which she
was fouled and buried both free throws for a 20-10 Gamecock lead midway
through the half.
Jasmine Robinson got loose on a baseline out
of bounds play for a mid-range jumper, but South Carolina answered with
a Welch drive through the lane. A Gamecock turnover allowed another
Alabama basket, leading to an 8-0 run for the Gamecocks. Walker hit a
jumper from the right elbow and a move on the left block from Charenee
Stephens was sandwiched between a pair of drives from Ashley Bruner,
the last of which gave the Gamecocks their largest lead at 30-14 with
5:24 left in the period.
The Gamecocks played a lot of zone
defense in the second half with 6-foot-3 Elem Ibiam manning the middle
for much of it. The move stymied the Crimson Tide, but 18 turnovers in
the half kept the Gamecocks from pulling much farther away. Alabama
struggled to score, despite taking 24 more shots than the Gamecocks,
hitting just 27.5 percent for the game, including 22.9 percent in the
second half.
Grant and Walker joined Sutton in double figures
with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Walker netted eight of her points
from the free-throw line, including five in the final two minutes of
the game. She handed out four assists as well.
Welch left the
game in the second half with a right knee injury. Initial report from
medical director Dr. Jeffery Guy was a sprain. She will be further
evaluated when the team returns to Columbia.
South Carolina is
back on the road Thu., Feb. 23, at No. 7/8 Kentucky before the
Gamecocks host Arkansas in the regular-season finale on Sun., Feb. 26.
South Carolina will honor its five seniors – Markeshia Grant, Courtney
Newton, Charenee Stephens, La’Keisha Sutton and Ebony Wilson – prior to
the game.
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