Welch tallies 2 double-doubles for women’s basketball
With the leadership of sophomore forward Aleighsa Welch, the Gamecocks now have a seven-game win streak to start their season.
The women’s basketball team capped a successful run at the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam by defeating DePaul 55-46 Saturday afternoon, winning the title in the tournament’s Reef Division. Welch was named Most Outstanding Player for her performance, which included two double-doubles in USC’s first two games.
The sophomore added nine points and 10 rebounds to the Gamecocks’ win over DePaul. After her weekend performance, Welch leads the team in rebounds and is second in scoring.
The key to all three South Carolina wins in the tournament was its defensive dominance. The Blue Demons shot below 30 percent on Saturday.
“I thought our players stuck to the game plan for 40 minutes,” Staley told reporters. “It wasn’t exactly pretty, but I like what we did on the defensive end. Our goal was to cut the head off with Brittany Hrynko. We did that, and I think it trickled down to the rest of their team.”
Hrynko, a sophomore guard, is tied for the DePaul team lead with an average of 14 points per game, but she tallied just four in 38 minutes of play against the Gamecocks.
Free throws continued to be a problem for South Carolina, as the team made only 13 of 29 free throw attempts. USC is shooting 52 percent from the line this season.
But the Gamecocks out-rebounded DePaul 47-31, led by 12 rebounds from senior forward Ashley Bruner.
“That’s one thing that we had special emphasis on all season long,” Staley said. “Night in and night out, I think we out-rebounded our opponents by a pretty good number.”
USC opened the tournament on Thanksgiving Day against Hampton, winning 45-34. Both teams got off to a slow start offensively, and South Carolina had just 19 points at halftime.
But the Gamecocks held Hampton to less than 20 percent shooting on the night and collected 57 rebounds in the win. Welch led the team in scoring with 16 points, including 12 in the second half.
South Carolina earned a spot in the tournament finals with a 65-46 victory over Florida Gulf Coast on Friday. The Gamecocks had a six-point lead at halftime but scored six consecutive points to start the second half, building a lead they never relinquished.
Although Welch led the team throughout the weekend, USC’s freshmen also stepped up with key performances. Guards Tiffany Mitchell and Khadijah Sessions added six points apiece in the tournament’s final game.
Mitchell, who has started all seven of South Carolina’s games this season, is averaging just under 10 points per contest.
“It was a total team effort from where we started in the tournament, playing against Hampton until now,” Staley said. “We look like a totally different basketball team.
“You see our team growing up. Our freshmen will be put in a position where they’re learning and getting some great experience. Hopefully it prepares us to continue to get better.”