Sophomore forward A’ja Wilson shone Monday night, carrying the South Carolina women’s basketball team to a hard-fought 62-56 victory on the road over the No. 24 Tennessee Volunteers. The 6-foot-5 standout dropped 25 points on 8-15 shooting, in addition to grabbing six rebounds.
Wilson’s performance was crucial for the Gamecocks, as junior center Alaina Coates and senior guard Tiffany Mitchell missed significant portions of game time due to foul trouble, including a chunk midway through the fourth quarter while South Carolina tried to seal the victory. Coates and Mitchell weren’t the only Gamecocks in foul trouble as senior guard Khadijah Sessions picked up four as well. Despite some starters being forced to see extended time off the court, South Carolina was able to outscore the Volunteers 38-35 in the second half, largely due to committing just three turnovers after the break, compared to 10 from the home team.
The Gamecocks came out of the gate with sloppy play, shooting just 4-18 from the field and missing easy shots at the rim. Despite the slow start, Coach Dawn Staley’s club trailed by just four at the end of the period, and the Gamecocks were able to grab a 24-21 halftime lead.
Outside of Wilson, a few other players turned in solid performances offensively. Sessions, who averaged just 6.4 points per contest coming in, had 13 points, while Mitchell had a dozen, and senior guard Tina Roy hit a pair of threes to finish with eight points. However, Coates was absent offensively, attempting just one shot and finishing scoreless for the first time this season. Coates had just two points in South Carolina’s loss to Connecticut last week, and despite grabbing 10 rebounds against the Volunteers, she needs to make a bigger impact offensively for the Gamecocks to continue to beat top teams.
Impressively, South Carolina was able to pull away in the second half, despite the fact that Tennessee held a 43-30 advantage in rebounding, a category usually dominated by the Gamecocks. The Volunteers also held a 16-8 advantage on the offensive glass, but they took just four more attempts than the Gamecocks, and they were unable to capitalize, as both teams hit 18 shots from the field.
The visitors shot 73 percent from the free throw line, with Wilson and Sessions leading the way, making 17 of a combined 22 attempts from the stripe. Prior to Monday’s game, the team had been converting just 65 percent of their attempts, a problem they need to resolve before heading into postseason play.
Regarding postseason play, the Gamecocks will be battle-tested, as this game was the team’s 11th win over a ranked opponent in 12 tries, with the only loss coming to the Huskies. With four games left on the regular season schedule, the Gamecocks aren’t slated to play any teams in this week’s rankings, though it will be tough to avoid a ranked team when it comes time for the SEC Tournament.
Thursday, South Carolina will come back home to take on the Georgia Bulldogs in Colonial Life Arena. The team will be looking to win their second straight game at home as their long home-winning streak was snapped with last week’s loss.