No. 1 Gamecocks win big-time Bahamas battle with No. 2 UConn. What we learned
The South Carolina women’s basketball team will hold on to its No. 1 spot in the Top 25 when the Gamecocks return home from the Bahamas.
Top-ranked South Carolina won 73-57 over the No. 2 UConn Huskies on Monday in the Bad Boy Mowers Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis championship game.
The Gamecocks trailed by 13 points with 7:57 left in the second quarter but outscored the Huskies 19-16, 24-18 and 16-3 over the final three quarters.
“Our players are determined, they are resilient,” Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley said afterward. “We knew exactly what we had to do, especially on the defensive side of the ball. We had to disrupt.”
South Carolina earned its second win over UConn in the matchup’s history, with the all-time series record standing at a 9-2 advantage for the Huskies. The teams will meet again when South Carolina hosts UConn on Jan. 27 at Colonial Life Arena.
“They’re a better team than us right now,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said. “We’ve got a long time before we go down there and play them again, but they were better today.”
Here’s what we learned from South Carolina’s win Monday.
Gamecocks surge to a clean win after halftime
South Carolina ended with its game against UConn with a 10-0 run and a completely dominant second half.
Outscored 16-3 in the fourth quarter, UConn’s final period tied for its worst point differential in the fourth quarter since women’s college basketball moved to quarters in the 2015-16 season, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
Down 52-50 with 2:39 to go in the third quarter, South Carolina went on a 23-5 run to close the game, outscoring the Huskies by 19 in the second half.
“Our defense did a super job for 40 minutes, and you didn’t really see the impact in the first half,” Staley said. “It is the third and fourth quarters when you start feeling what our defense does to the teams.”
The Gamecocks cleaned up 11 first-half turnovers and only had three in the last two quarters. While the Huskies scored 13 off South Carolina turnovers in the second half, they didn’t get any points off turnovers in the second.
Aliyah Boston’s 22 points and 15 rebounds led the Gamecocks. Zia Cooke added 17 points and Destanni Henderson contributed 15.
South Carolina kept control of the boards, out-rebounding UConn 42-25. Boston said after the game she was focused on “crashing the boards” against the Huskies.
Paige Bueckers contributed 19 points for the Huskies, and Evina Westbrook tallied 14.
Huskies lock in first-half defense, USC responds
Transition play, USC turnovers and a strong post presence allowed UConn to head into halftime with a 36-33 lead over South Carolina in Paradise Island.
The Huskies forced the Gamecocks to play in transition early, which worked well for UConn’s quick-paced offense. The Huskies scored 13 on the fast break, limiting South Carolina to 2.
The Gamecocks’ defense locked in the second half, as UConn wasn’t able to push the pace late, scoring just 2 fast-break points in the final 20 minutes.
The Gamecocks’ turnover bug resurfaced but was cleaned in the second half. UConn took advantage of USC’s 11 turnovers and scored 13 points off South Carolina mistakes in the first half, but the Huskies didn’t get any points off just three South Carolina turnovers in the second half.
UConn held its own in the post early, where South Carolina had dominated through its first five games. The Gamecocks entered the championship outscoring opponents 186 to 120 in the paint but finished the first half at an even 16-16 with the Huskies.
South Carolina finished the game outscoring the Huskies 36-24 in the paint.
Next USC women’s basketball game
Who: South Carolina vs. Elon
When: 3 p.m. Friday
Where: Colonial Life Arena (18,000) in Columbia, S.C.
Watch: SEC Network Plus
South Carolina vs UConn box score
SOUTH CAROLINA (6-0)—Boston 10-19 1-1 22, Saxton 1-3 0-0 2, Beal 3-6 0-0 6, Cooke 8-17 0-1 17, Henderson 5-15 4-4 15, Amihere 0-1 1-4 1, Cardoso 2-2 0-0 4, Littleton 2-4 0-0 6, Hall 0-0 0-0 0, Team 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 31-67 6-10 73
UCONN (3-1)—Edwards 3-6 0-0 6, Nelson-Ododa 3-4 0-2 6, Bueckers 8-19 2-2 19, Westbrook 4-6 4-4 14, Williams 3-10 4-4 10, Juhasz 1-4 0-0 2, Muhl 0-0 0-0 0, Fudd 0-1 0-0 0, McLean 0-0 0-0 0, Team 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 22-50 10-12 57
Halftime—UConn 36-33. 3-Point Goals—South Carolina 5-18 (Boston 1-4, Beal 0-1, Cooke 1-4, Henderson 1-5, Littleton 2-4), UConn 3-8 (Bueckers 1-3, Westbrook 2-2, Williams 0-2, Juhasz 0-1). Assists—South Carolina 12 (Henderson 6), UConn 18 (Bueckers 7). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—South Carolina 42 (Boston 7-15), UConn 25 (Juhasz 3-3). Total Fouls—South Carolina 18, UConn 13. Technical Fouls—None. A—1,171.
This story was originally published November 22, 2021 at 1:55 PM with the headline "No. 1 Gamecocks win big-time Bahamas battle with No. 2 UConn. What we learned."
