Women also drop weekend game to Auburn
After a landmark win against Georgia on Thursday, the Lady Gamecocks came up short against Auburn on Sunday, allowing the Tigers nine straight points to close out the game with a final score of 54-47.
Auburn's Morgan Toles tormented USC all afternoon, finishing the game with 21 points, including five from the free throw line. She added five rebounds, three assists and a steal to jumpstart the Tiger offense.
"I thought we fought hard today," assistant coach Darius Taylor said on 1320 AM after the game. "It's just that some shots didn't go down for us, we didn't make free throws down the stretch, and we didn't take care of Morgan Toles. She really hurt us. She was the difference in the game. She kept us on our heels, and we never quite got her under control.
"We could kind of take care of the other players as the game went on, but Toles killed us tonight."
The game started slowly, as neither team could find the basket until Toles knocked down a jumper with 16:34 remaining in the first half. USC tied the game at four before Auburn went on an 8-0 run to build up a lead it would maintain throughout the first half.
The Gamecocks took their first lead of the game with 8:36 left in the second half when Ieasia Walker knocked down a 3-pointer. The two teams traded baskets for several minutes, but after Auburn tied the score at 47, USC couldn't keep pace. Carolina failed to execute down the stretch, turning the ball over four times in the final minutes and missing several critical free throws.
"We thought we had the advantage on the block, and we took our time, and down the stretch they just double-teamed us," Taylor said. "They came from different directions, once with the drive, once from the post, so they mixed it up a little on us. It was a hard-fought, good effort by our team, but we just couldn't come away with the win."
USC played a solid defensive game, led by Courtney Newton. Coming off a career-high 16 points against Georgia, Newton contributed five points, three rebounds and a steal. As a team, the Gamecockskept up with the Tigers in rebounds, 42-42, but could not find a way to stop Auburn's screens.
"It's hard to defend [a team like Auburn] because they do a good job of moving well and keeping spacing," Taylor said. "It's almost like a little brush screen sometimes, so they were able to get some handoffs and get some movement and get open looks. That's what they've been doing all year. They're a pretty effective team."
The loss drops USC's conference record to 4-5. The Gamecocks will have a full week of badly needed rest to prepare for their next SEC matchup against the Razorbacks on Sunday.
"We have to get ready to go," Taylor said. "Arkansas is a tough opponent. They like to get up and down. They're a really fast, athletic team. Some rest hopefully should prove good for us."