Gamecocks win third straight in SEC play
After 20 minutes of basketball Sunday, the South Carolina women's team had scored 30 points and held an eight-point lead against Mississippi State going into the half.
After the first five minutes of the second half, the lead was 22, thanks in large part to a 17-3 run to open the half for the Gamecocks, en route to a commanding 69-43 victory over the Bulldogs.
During those first few pivotal minutes of the second half, USC wasted no time pulling the trigger and that, according to coach Dawn Staley, allowed the Gamecocks to pull ahead
"If you have scouted us before the last few games, we're not as aggressive from an early offensive standpoint," Staley said. "I thought we came out in the second half and just took open shots, shots that were natural to us. I think sometimes that catches people off guard and we got out and got some easy buckets."
USC came out of the locker room strong, hitting two 3-pointers in the first four minutes after making just one in the first half. Senior guard Markeshia Grant took over during the run, scoring 8 of the 17 points and also dishing out two assists. One of those assists came in an impressive no-look pass to La'keisha Sutton to put the Gamecocks up by 20.
After the game, Grant was compared to NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, at which point she admitted she may have learned a thing or two from watching him.
"I really do like Magic Johnson," Grant said. "I'm a very unselfish player and I thought she was more open than me, and I like doing no look passes."
Grant wasn't the only one distributing the ball as USC finished the game with 17 assists on 28 made field goals. Ieasia Walker, who sat out much of the first half due to foul trouble, led the team with six assists.
Coming into the game, the height of the Bulldogs' inside players was a concern for the Gamecocks with Martha Alwal and Catina Bett standing 6'4 and 6'5, respectively, four inches taller than any of USC's starters. Alwal and Bett were held to a combined 12 points and 7 rebounds.
"I think I have a little bit more advantage, strength wise," said forward Charenee Stephens, who guarded both players. "I may not look like it, but sometimes you have to go out and be confident with your strength and push those girls out of there, because when they do have that deep post, that's when they're effective."
The Gamecocks also effectively limited Mississippi State's Diamber Johnson, who came into the game averaging 17 points. On Sunday, Johnson was held to two points on 1-11 shooting.
"We know she is the engine behind what they do," said Staley. "Obviously, she is the head of that particular basketball team, and for us, we like to cut the head off and then, the rest will go. We knew that the guard play was our main concern coming in, and if we could take one of them out of the equation, it would benefit us."
USC shot 49.1 percent from the field for the game, 55.6 percent in the second half while also forcing 16 turnovers and holding the Bulldogs to 30 percent shooting. Staley said the key was to mix the defense up throughout the game.
"We went into the game knowing that their high-frequency plays were ball screen offenses," said Staley. "We wanted to make sure that we were giving them different looks and not allow them to get comfortable."
The Gamecocks won't have long to relish the victory as they travel to Tennessee Thursday to play the No. 7 Volunteers. For Staley, the team will need no extra motivation for that opponent.
"Tennessee is Tennessee, it's an easy game to get up for," Staley said. "You're not just preparing for a team, you're preparing for a tradition."