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Home > SECWB News & More! > WNIT > South Carolina off to a strong start in WNIT
South Carolina off to a strong start in WNIT
by Marilyn McManus, SECWB.com (March 18, 2007)
Posted: March 30th, 2007 @ 7:41pm
The South Carolina women’s basketball team, awarded a first-round bye in the Women’s NIT, opened second-round play by hosting Hartford, the regular season champions of the America East Conference. The Hawks came into the game ranked 3rd in the nation in scoring defense (52.4ppg) and 13th in field goal percentage defense (.355 percent). The Gamecocks were still feeling the pain of being left out of the NCAA tournament field and were hoping to take it out on someone else. Welcome to the Colonial Center, Hartford Hawks!
In front of a small but enthusiastic crowd, the Gamecocks got off to a fast start, scoring on 6 of their first 7 possessions, before Hartford crept back to within 2 points at 12-10. After that, South Carolina simply rolled over the Hawks with a 20-0 run and went into halftime with a 40-19 lead.
The second half was more of the same, with the Gamecocks destroying the usually stingy Hartford defense and holding the Hawks to 22% shooting en route to claiming a 81-40 victory. All 13 Gamecocks on the roster played and 12 got into the scoring column. Melanie Johnson led the way with 18 points in 19 minutes, on 8 of 11 shooting. Junior Ilona Burgrova and freshman Kellindra Zachery each grabbed 6 rebounds, to lead in that category. Junior Lakesha Tolliver blocked 3 shots, leaving her 1 block short of tying Teresa Geter’s record of 58 blocks in a single season, set in 2000-2001. South Carolina led in every statistical category, except offensive rebounding. With the Gamecocks shooting 61.8% from the field, there was little need for offensive rebounds. The win gave South Carolina an 18-14 record, including 15 wins at home, tying a school record. It was the first post-season win for the Gamecocks since their run to the NCAA Elite Eight in the 2001-2002 season.
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