Women’s basketball finishes off unbeaten streak at home
The end of Thursday night’s 67-56 win over Georgia was unlike any the South Carolina women’s basketball team has ever experienced.
The players ran the perimeter of the court high-fiving fans, a table was hauled to center court and head coach Dawn Staley was handed a microphone to address the crowd. But those are the kinds of festivities that will ensue when you win an SEC championship.
“It seems just so surreal,” Staley said. “Our kids have worked extremely hard, and they put themselves in a position to be SEC champions, and we took care of business. And I’m glad we did it in front of almost 12,500 fans.”
Entering Thursday night’s meeting with the Bulldogs, No. 4 South Carolina knew it had secured at least a share of the regular season conference title. But the Gamecocks (26-2, 14-1 SEC) made it clear from the start that they weren’t willing to settle for a tie.
While Georgia was able to keep the score respectable throughout, the Gamecocks kept the gap just wide enough with a speedy transition game that gave the Bulldogs fits all night.
UGA showed signs of life when it began to press in the second half, forcing several turnovers as South Carolina tried to take the ball up the court. But the Gamecocks proved why they’re the best in the SEC by exploiting the press to create easy baskets on the other end.
Sophomore Tiffany Mitchell finished with a career-high 25 points behind a dominant first half that saw her score just two fewer points than Georgia could muster as a team. The guard’s total came in efficient fashion, as she shot 7-10 from the field.
“I kind of just read the defense, and I knew we could penetrate on them and get the ball inside,” Mitchell said. “So either by penetration or passing to our bigs, that’s what I just tried to take advantage of.”
Freshman center Alaina Coates joined Mitchell in double-digits with 18 points, and the two highest-scoring Gamecocks made their contributions on the glass as well, as Mitchell and Coates hauled in six and eight rebounds, respectively. Junior center Elem Ibiam did the most damage on the boards, collecting a game-high nine rebounds.
As the final home game of the season for South Carolina, Thursday’s contest served as senior night for Wilka Montout, the lone graduating Gamecock. While she didn’t manage to score in the game, she brought down two rebounds on the night.
South Carolina will close out the regular season with a trip to Tennessee on Sunday, but Thursday’s win sealed an unbeaten campaign at Colonial Life Arena, the first accomplishment of its kind for the program.
“We were just really excited that we were able to get the championship on our floor,” Coates said. “It was just a really good feeling to go and do the things we did with the team that I had.”
After the Gamecocks finish their business in Knoxville, it’s on to the SEC tournament and eventually the NCAA tournament, in which South Carolina hopes to earn a No. 1 seed.
When Staley took over the program five years ago, she repeated a mantra: “Why not us?”
She said that she’s carried that phrase along to every new group of Gamecocks that has come through the program during her time in Columbia. And with a newly-minted SEC title on her resume and aspirations beyond the conference, Staley and her team will do their best to enjoy the fruits of their labors before the real work begins.
“We’ve left this court with our heads down and tears running down our face because we were defeated,” Staley said. “But to have the direct opposite emotion, it’s tremendous. And I want our kids to enjoy the moment.”