The Daily Gamecock

Lady Vols beat shorthanded Gamecocks

As fans were rolling into Colonial Life Arena for Sunday's top-ten matchup, superstar A'ja Wilson rolled out onto the court in a pink cast wrapped around her right foot. Wilson is considered day-to-day with an ankle injury she sustained on Thursday against Auburn.

In other injury news, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan was injured in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game with what appears to be a left leg injury. Head coach Dawn Staley announced after the game that both Herbert Harrigan and Wilson will have an MRI on Monday.

With both of these players down, South Carolina struggled for most of the game, as Tennessee walked away with the 86-70 win.

A noticeable difference between the two teams was getting to the free throw line. Tennessee got to the line 25 times by the end of the third quarter while South Carolina only got to the line 23 times in the entire game. The Gamecocks were whistled for 20 fouls as a team, where they came into the game averaging just above 16. 

The Gamecocks entered the fourth quarter down 11, but quickly cut the lead down to four with just under six minutes to play. The Lady Vols responded by going on a quick 7-0 run that sealed their victory. 

"We ran out of gas, and they just kept going" said guard Ty Harris about not being able to close the gap. "They had a lot of firepower off the bench, so they could sub and continue going."

Staley echoed this, knowing that her team gave it their all especially with the injuries. 

"Fatigue set in, obviously and we just couldn't keep up," Staley said. "They just kept pushing." 

In her 39 minutes, Harris set a career high in points with 28 and had all four assists for the Gamecocks. Alexis Jennings and LeLe Grissett stepped up in Wilson's absence pulling down seven and eight rebounds respectively. This was a big part in why Staley said that she could see the ongoing growth of this team.  

This was the Gamecocks' third loss of the year, all coming at the hands of top-fifteen teams. South Carolina will look to rebound and hope to have Wilson and Herbert Harrigan back as they travel to Vanderbilt to take on the Commodores on Thursday. 


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