Bench leads way for Carolina in victory
South Carolina thought it should have been invited to the NCAA Tournament. Dawn Staley, its head coach, even said so in the official release that announced USC had received the Southeastern Conference's automatic bid to the Women's National Invitational Tournament. But the Lady Gamecocks weren't one of the 64 chosen to go dancing. So, they had a choice — suffer a letdown and early WNIT exit, or seize the opportunity at hand.
On Wednesday night, USC took the latter, defeating Appalachian State 67-54 in a first-round game at the Colonial Life Arena — an initial step in what Carolina hopes can be a successful run deep into March.
"If we're in the WNIT, we feel like we should win it," said forward Ashley Bruner. "We're going to go into every game thinking we're going to play our hardest. We want to run."
Staley said she was worried her team would be somewhat rusty after a 12-day break between its SEC Tournament quarterfinal loss to Georgia on March 4 and playing ASU. Early on, her concerns were founded.
After an ugly first five minutes, which saw the teams combine for 12 missed shots, eight points (a 6-2 ASU lead) and seven turnovers, the Gamecocks began to assert themselves, going on an 20-10 run to take a 10-point lead, 22-12, with 4:27 left in the first half.
The Lady Mountaineers (26-6) pulled to within four, 28-24, at halftime and held close until USC built its lead back to 10 with 8:40 left in the game. ASU got to within five points moments later, but USC (18-14) didn't wilt, extending its lead to as many as 14 points down the stretch to clinch its first postseason victory since 2008.
"I haven't been in this position before," said forward Charenee Stephens of playing in the postseason. "I'm excited. I'm happy to be playing postseason play."
Bench play was crucial for USC, as Bruner, Stephens and guard Markeshia Grant combined for 37 of Carolina's points.
"They had over half of our points," Staley said. "As I've said all year long, a couple of them can be starters for us."
USC's 18 wins are the most a Lady Gamecock team has had in a season since the 2006-07 campaign, when they also won 18 games. A win against the 49ers on Sunday would give Carolina its most wins since 2002-03, when USC won 23.
USC will now host UNC-Charlotte in the second round Sunday at 2 p.m. The Lady 49ers (24-9) defeated Liberty 62-56 in their first-round matchup. USC holds a 16-5 advantage in the all-time series with Charlotte, winning the last meeting between the schools last season, a 70-66 double-overtime victory in the Queen City.
"They're athletic; they're a threat at [all] five positions," Staley said of Charlotte. "They like to get up and down the floor."