Add women’s basketball to the list of Clemson teams that have seen “The Thumb” from South Carolina.
The No. 2 Gamecocks’ 99-41 blowout win over the Tigers Thursday marks five in-a-row in the series for South Carolina.
“It’s a big deal, especially for me being a senior,” forward Aleighsa Welch said. “We all know about the South Carolina-Clemson rivalry, especially when it comes to football. But we take it seriously in basketball, as well.”
Freshman A’ja Wilson was still getting her feet wet in the season opener against Southern Cal, but she made a big splash Thursday night despite starting the game on the bench.
She made her first six shots and finished with 18 points for the game in addition to five rebounds. She would go airborne and come down with passes that seemed to be way over her head, leading to offensive chances. Clemson simply could not contain her, and perhaps it was because Wilson got her nerves out in the first game.
“I would have to say Saturday’s game was kind of the first game jitters. It was my first real collegiate game,” she said. “So really, I was very nervous. But ... this game, coming off the bench, I felt more comfortable.”
Junior guard and reigning SEC Player of the Year Tiffany Mitchell also got comfortable quickly, posting a 15-point, five-assist night on 6-of-8 shooting.
Sophomore center Alaina Coates played the enforcer inside in South Carolina’s first game, but Thursday saw Welch step into that role as well. Welch had 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting along with three rebounds and three assists. Coates started out slow from the field, but finished with another double-double at 12 points and 10 boards.
The Gamecocks trailed 4-0 early and then turned on the jets, going on a 24-6 run that lasted nearly 10 minutes. A no-look pass from junior guard Khadijah Sessions to Welch for an and-one layup highlighted the stretch and got the crowd fired up.
South Carolina went into halftime up 45-21 after Sessions hit an and-one layup of her own with one second to go. The Gamecocks continued to pour it on Clemson from there.
Many reserves saw time on the court in the second half and some young players who impressed include freshman guard Bianca Cuevas, who had 10 points and freshman forward Jatarie White, who put up 11 points along with five rebounds.
The game was more comfortable than the opener for the Gamecocks, and one reason for that was committing fewer turnovers. As opposed to the 19 they committed against the Trojans, South Carolina only had seven against the Tigers.
The Gamecocks shot an impressive 8-of-15 (53 percent) from beyond the three-point line. Clemson head coach Audra Smith said if South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley’s team can regularly shoot like that from outside, South Carolina will win a national title.
After such a lopsided win and No. 1 Connecticut falling earlier in the week, the Gamecocks are poised to slip into the top spot of the AP poll.
Staley has emphasized several times that it's too early to worry about rankings, and it is just about enjoying the journey of the season.
The mood was set early with South Carolina celebrating last year’s success of winning the SEC Championship. The 2013-14 Gamecocks received their rings during a pregame ceremony and, despite all that emotion, they came out fired up to play well.
“I think when you have done what we’ve done, which is we had a historical moment in our program history and that’s winning an SEC Championship,” Staley said. “And you need to enjoy the journey — smell the coffee or smell the flowers so to speak — as you’re taking the journey.”