Author's Note: Sometimes it's hard to fully digest all of the storylines that come out of a game. In all the craziness that the final minutes can be, it's easy to forget some of the key moments that happened earlier on that shaped the game. That's why I've created The Morning After, a column to take a look back at some things that you (and I) may have overlooked on game day. I'll be checking in from time to time, giving you some of my more level-headed takes, the morning after. I hope you enjoy.
I've written extensively this season about the incredibly talented players on South Carolina's women's basketball team this season, including reigning SEC Player of the Year A'ja Wilson. Then there's Alaina Coates, the dominant center who averages a double-double. On the wing, you've got Kaela Davis, a top-flight scorer who fans remember for dropping 37 in her team debut against Ohio State.
Those three players generally get the majority of the attention, and they are often seen in post-game press conferences and promotional social media posts from the team. But there's a fourth player in garnet and black posting elite numbers: junior guard Allisha Gray.
The former All-ACC player at North Carolina is scoring 13.4 points per game while shooting over 50 percent from the floor and leading the Gamecocks in assists. She also ranks second on the team in steals, and Gray rebounds well for a guard, pulling down 4.6 boards per game. But I don't want to talk about numbers.
I want to talk about the Mississippi State game, where Gray played a major role in the Gamecocks' win over the nation's No. 4 team. It's easy to point to the junior's 16 second-half points and say she was a major factor, and we'll get there, but let's talk defense.
Gray opened the game guarding Victoria Vivians, the Bulldogs' leading scorer who came to Columbia averaging 17.1 points per game. Vivians put up 26 points against the Gamecocks in last season's SEC final, but Gray limited her to seven in the first 20 minutes Monday, and five of them came in the first two minutes.
The 6-foot shooting guard was face-guarding Vivians on several possessions, denying her the ball and completely shutting her out of the Mississippi State offense. Davis and Doniyah Cliney guarded Vivians after the break, but Gray's biggest play against the All-SEC guard came in the final seconds.
The Gamecocks were clinging to a one-point lead with less than a minute on the clock when Tyasha Harris threw an errant pass to Vivians, who darted down the court past Wilson toward the basket.
"I already had in my mind 'okay, let me take this ball [out of bounds]," Wilson said of the play. "Then I just see (Allisha) sprinting out of my peripheral, so I was like 'oh my goodness!'"
Gray came from the other side of the court to contest the layup, forcing Vivians to miss and allowing Wilson to grab the rebound. Coates would convert on the other end to put South Carolina up three in the final seconds.
It wasn't just the final minute, though. Gray was making big plays all throughout the second half, sparking a 14-2 run to open the third quarter. After burying a three on the Gamecocks' first possession out of the locker room, the Tar Heel transfer put her team ahead with a pair of free throws, a steal that led to a Harris three, and a three of her own, igniting the crowd and putting her team up four. The lead would go back and forth, but Gray changed the momentum of the game, finishing strong around the rim and getting to the free throw line.
Her 17 points and seven rebounds weren't enough to get her in the press conference over Coates and Wilson, but that might be the way she likes it. While the aforementioned big three grabs all the attention, Gray seems to let her play do the talking, starting all 18 games so far and stuffing the stat sheet.
"She waited patiently, and they forgot about her," head coach Dawn Staley said of her starting shooting guard.
Gray scored 16 of her 17 points in the second half, so being forgotten didn't turn out to be such a bad thing.
In the four games South Carolina has played against top 10 opponents this season, Gray is averaging 17.3 points and 5.0 rebounds, and she played 38 minutes apiece against Mississippi State and Ohio State. She may be the Gamecocks' forgotten star, but Gray has found her role on this team, and she's beginning to thrive, averaging 16.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals in her last five games.
There's no doubt in my mind South Carolina wouldn't have won this game (and maybe the Georgia game) without Gray. She's earned the respect of fans and analysts, but also of her teammates, as Wilson pointed out that Gray has been in the gym before and after practice taking extra shots, which has instilled confidence in her team.
"We knew once she got in her rhythm, she was gonna start hitting shots that we needed her to hit," Coates said of Gray's second half outburst. "Once she did hit them, especially in the moment, we all believed in her. We believed that she could do it."