The South Carolina women's basketball team struck back with a 72-52 victory over the Duke Blue Devils on a "Star Wars"-themed Sunday at Colonial Life Arena.
This was the fourth time the Gamecocks beat the Blue Devils all-time and the fourth time in which both teams were ranked in the AP Top 15.
Neither team was extremely dominant on offense, but Duke put up its season-low in points in a game where it had trouble finding the basket.
In the first half, the Blue Devils went 11-for-24 shooting in a game that was only separated by 11 points at the time. From there, the Gamecocks took control.
South Carolina opened the third quarter on a 9-4 run and held the Blue Devils to only five made shots on 18 attempts. Duke was unable to find a rhythm in the second half and dropped its shooting percentage from 45.8 percent to 37.9 percent by the end of the game.
“This team is tough, and we have a lot of fight and a lot of will," A'ja Wilson said.
For a majority of the game, freshman Bianca Jackson was matched up against Duke’s star point guard, Rebecca Greenwell.
Before today's game, Greenwell led the Blue Devils in 3-point percentage and 3-pointers made with 53.5 and 23 respectively. She also ranked second on the team in points per game with 16.9.
Jackson shut her down from behind the arc. Greenwell made no 3-pointers for the second time this season, and Jackson didn't allow her to attempt a 3-pointer until the second half. That was a first for Greenwell this season.
“To have a freshman guarding Rebecca Greenwell, for her to step up in that situation this early in the season, it goes to show that this team is tough,” Wilson said on Jackson’s performance.
Dawn Staley added, “We’ve played Duke for a few years now and no one's ever played Rebecca that way ... She really locked in on the game plan and she grew up tonight. We can only expect her to continue this and grow from it. "
Even with major players absent in the game’s offensive game plan, including Lindsey Spann, the Gamecocks put together a nice win against a Top 15 opponent that they could see again in March.
“This game was huge for us," Wilson said. "This was the most locked in I’ve ever seen this team. That’s just great to have at this early in the season ... The sky’s the limit for this team.”