Gamecocks Cruise to 76-53 Win over LSU on the Road
From start to finish
#21/25 South Carolina women's basketball dominated LSU, defeating the
Lady Tigers 76-53 in Baton Rouge Sunday night. The Gamecocks (12-4, 4-0
SEC) scored 29 points on 76.9 percent shooting in the first quarter and
never looked back for their ninth-straight win over LSU.
Four
Gamecocks scored in double figures in the win with junior guard Te'a
Cooper leading offense with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting in 23
minutes. Senior forward Alexis Jennings shot an efficient 4-of-6 from
the floor to score 10 points while grabbing seven rebounds. Mikiah
Herbert Harrigan and Bianca Jackson each added 10 points to round out
the Gamecocks' top scorers.
For the second-straight game, the
Gamecocks raced out to an early lead. The 9-0 run to begin the game was
led by redshirt-senior Bianca Cuevas-Moore who sank a pair of free
throws, but also made a diving play on the defensive end before
assisting Tyasha Harris on a 3-pointer. Carolina followed a fast start
with a blazing finish in the opening quarter, Herbert Harrigan and
Harris each scored a pair of buckets to extend the Gamecock lead to
29-11.
Carolina's final nine points of the first quarter
extended into the second quarter and ended in a 15-2 run. The
first-half lead grew to as much as 25 after Jackson hit a three.
Carolina's defense was lock down in the second quarter, forcing an LSU
drought during which the Lady Tigers shot 2-of-10 and helped the
Gamecocks end the first half with a 45-23 advantage.
The
Gamecocks pushed their lead to as much as 27 points during the third
quarter. Although Carolina only outscored LSU 16-15 during the period,
a 7-0 run, highlighted by a Cooper and-one, gave the Gamecocks a 56-29
lead with 4:01 in the quarter. The Lady Tigers and the Gamecocks traded
buckets for the remainder of the quarter and went into the fourth
quarter with Carolina on top 61-38.
The two teams played an
even fourth quarter, each scoring 15 points. Nelly Perry connected on
an and-one with 2:47 to go, and Jackson reached double figures in the
final minute to help the Gamecocks coast to the 76-53 win on the road.
GAMECHANGER Carolina shot 76.9 percent in the opening
quarter that led to a 29-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. The
18-point scoring margin is the largest of any quarter for the Gamecocks
in SEC play. QUOTABLE DAWN STALEY Staley on 9-0 run to begin the gameā¦ "It
was good to have a start like that, especially on the road. I just
thought we were playing well on both sides of the ball and sometimes [a
run] like that happens. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does,
you celebrate the things that went well." KEY STAT The
Gamecocks forced 13 LSU turnovers that led to 18 points during the
game, including seven during the Gamecocks' 9-0 run to begin the game. NOTABLES
The
Gamecocks have defeated the Lady Tigers nine times in a row dating back
to 2012; allowing an average of just 54 points per game while scoring
74 per game during the nine-game winning streak. With a 27-20 advantage against LSU, Carolina is now 11-1 when its bench outscores its opponent's bench. South
Carolina's defense was in top form against LSU, holding the Lady Tigers
to 37.9 percent shooting from the floor. Carolina is now 11-0 when it
holds its opponent under 39.0 percent shooting from the field. Led
by five assists from Harris, the Gamecocks assisted on 15 of their 27
field goals. Carolina is 9-0 this season when it assists on more than
half of its field goals. Carolina held the Lady Tigers to
just 28 rebounds in the win, the fewest rebounds allowed since
Appalachian State (Dec. 5) and the fewest since SEC play began. Herbert Harrigan scored in double figures for the fourth-straight game, Carolina is 4-0 during that stretch. Jackson's
10 points is the most she has scored in a game since Purdue (Dec. 16).
The Gamecocks are 3-0 this season when she reaches 10 points.
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