Led by a 26-point performance from A'ja Wilson and 16 second-half points from Allisha Gray, the No. 5 South Carolina Gamecocks came back and then held on to defeat No. 4 Mississippi State 64-61. Monday night, extending their conference home winning streak to 30 games and claiming sole possession of first place in the SEC.
The loss was the first of the year for the Bulldogs, who jumped out to a hot start and led by as many as nine late in the first half. Foul trouble plagued the visitors in the second half, as leading scorer Victoria Vivians sat for some of the third quarter, and centers Chinwe Okorie and Teaira McCowan had four fouls before the start of the fourth. Both centers fouled out with over three and a half minutes left in the game.
Mississippi State scored the game's first seven points, and the Bulldogs bullied the Gamecocks on the offensive glass early on, generating nine extra chances in the first quarter alone. An Alaina Coates 6-0 run cut the deficit to one by the end of the quarter, but the Bulldogs took a seven-point advantage into the locker room.
"(Alaina) Coates is really good," Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer said. "She's a monster."
Coates would finish just one rebound shy of her fifth straight double-double, grabbing 12 rebounds while also recording three assists.
The Gamecocks came out of the break firing, as Allisha Gray drilled a three to start a 13-2 run that featured eight points from the junior guard, giving South Carolina a four-point lead. Gray and Wilson would combine to score 17 of the team's 21 points in the quarter, helping the Gamecocks to cling to a one-point lead entering the fourth.
"We set up some plays for Allisha Gray [in the second half]," head coach Dawn Staley said after the win. "She worked so hard defensively in the first half. She sacrificed herself, and we wanted to make sure it wasn't just a one-sided game for her. She's a scorer. She can score and she delivered for us."
In the final period, as fouls started to pile up for the Bulldogs, South Carolina fed the reigning SEC Player of the Year, and Wilson delivered, providing key baskets down the stretch as the Gamecocks looked to secure the win.
It was Coates who delivered the final blow, converting a layup with 25.6 seconds to play after Gray forced a missed layup on the other end. Victoria Vivians was fouled on a three-point attempt seconds later, but she missed her final attempt, and the South Carolina defense forced her to chuck up an air ball in the final seconds.
With the win, the Gamecocks move to 7-0 in conference play and 17-1 on the season, in addition to making No. 1 Connecticut the nation's only undefeated team. South Carolina will be back on the court Thursday when the Gamecocks take on Georgia in Athens.