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NO. 6 NOTRE DAME TOPS NO. 3 SOUTH CAROLINA, 92-85
Arike Ogunbowale scored
23 points, Jackie Young added 22 and No. 6 Notre Dame beat No. 3 South
Carolina 92-85 on Sunday night to take the Gulf Coast Showcase
championship and snap the defending national champion Gamecocks'
17-game winning streak.
Marina Mabrey scored 12 points and
Jessica Shepard had 10 for the Irish (6-0), They trailed by 12 points
early in the second quarter and then went on a 37-12 run over the next
14 minutes.
A'ja Wilson had a career-best 34 points for South
Carolina (6-1), which hadn't lost since Feb. 19. Alexis Jennings and
Doniyah Cliney each scored 12 points for the Gamecocks.
Notre
Dame - which trailed 8-0 and 30-18 early - made seven consecutive shots
in the second quarter to get back into the game, then had another 7 for
7 stretch early in the fourth.
The first Irish lead came when
Mabrey found Shepard for a layup and a 34-33 edge, and Notre Dame just
kept attacking the rim the rest of the way.
Mabrey had
back-to-back scores at the rim early in the third to give Notre Dame a
47-38 lead, and the Irish kept control the rest of the way. The only
time the outcome looked in any doubt was late in the third, when South
Carolina forced turnovers on two straight possessions, scored on both
and got within 59-51.
Notre Dame called time and set up a play
for Mabrey - who drilled an open 3-pointer from the left corner, and
the Irish took an 11-point lead into the fourth.
That's when
they closed out the Gamecocks, going up 80-61 when Young scored with
6:34 left. South Carolina had one last-gasp run, getting within nine on
a layup by Wilson with 2:04 left and eventually within five in the
final seconds, but the Gamecocks ran out of time.
NOTABLE
South Carolina’s Alexis Jennings and A’ja Wilson were named to the All-Tournament Team.
A’ja
Wilson posted the third 30-point game of the season and her career,
resetting her career high for the second time in three days with 34
points.
Wilson also tied her career high with five assists in the game.
The
Gamecocks trailed at halftime for the first time this season and were
out-scored in the paint (58-42) for the first time this season.
South
Carolina out-scored Notre Dame in the fourth quarter 30-26 and shot
66.7 percent (14-of-21) in the period, but could not overcome the
11-point deficit they had going into the final 10 minutes.
GAMECHANGER
Notre
Dame closed the first half on a 17-5 run, capitalizing on five South
Carolina turnovers to take a 41-38 lead into halftime.
KEY STAT
In the middle two quarters of the game, Notre Dame out-scored South Carolina in the paint 36-8.
UP NEXT
The
Gamecocks return home for their next four games at Colonial Life Arena,
beginning on Thu., Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. against Western Carolina.
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