The South Carolina women's basketball team put on a show Sunday evening against Kentucky, getting the 81-63 win. The team is now one step closer to clinching second in the SEC.
Not only were the Gamecocks able to celebrate their fourth-straight win, but senior A'ja Wilson had another dominate performance, scoring a team-high 29 points.
Once South Carolina was able to get in its rhythm, the Gamecocks quickly grabbed hold of their advantages and took the lead for good when Wilson converted a and-one with 34 seconds left in the first quarter.
Freshman Bianca Jackson had a strong game, showing her three-point shooting skills as she scored all 12 of her points from behind the arc and shot 4-for-5 from distance. Jackson gave credit mainly to her teammates.
"A'ja gave me some good passes when she was being double teamed," Jackson said. "It was easy for me to knock it down because they put a lot of attention on her, so I was kind of open."
Another reason the Gamecocks won was their ability to sink free throws, going 23-for-25 from the line— the highest percentage they have shot all season. Head coach Dawn Staley said it was just "one of those nights" and gave Wilson a lot of the credit, mentioning that she goes to the line more than anybody else on the team.
Wilson sees the win as a motivator for future games. She hopes to use this momentum as the team goes into its final stretch before the postseason.
"For them to have a hot hand, and knock down shots the way they did today is just great going into postseason," Wilson said. "That's what we're going to need."
Even before the postseason, the Gamecocks have a few tough games ahead. Gamecocks face LSU on Thursday for senior night. Despite all the festivities that usually surround senior night, the Gamecocks know this is going to be a pivotal game when it comes to SEC standings. Wilson said the team isn't going to do anything out of the ordinary when it comes to their game plan.
"We're going to continue to do us, stay within our system," Wilson said. "We're going to come out with a lot of energy, and stay within our system."
Staley said there's only one thing the team should focus on.
"The only thing we can control right now is us winning," she said. "We need to take advantage of home [court] and put us in a position where we have a little bit of cushion going into Tennessee."