The Gamecocks simply had too many turnovers and the Wildcats did take advantage of them; in the first half alone, the Cats scored 16 points off of Gamecock turnovers.

The Wildcats were led by Amani Franklin and Amber Smith, who scored 21 and 13 points, respectively, as well as the rebounding efforts of Eleia Roddy and Sarah Elliott, with 7 and 6.

The Gamecocks’ leading scorers were Jordan Jones (16 pts.), Ilona Burgrova (15 pts) and Demetress Adams with 11 points. Adams also had 9 rebounds and Burgrova 8 rebounds for the night. Freshman Jasmine Payne made her first start and, though she only scored 1 point, she had 6 rebounds for the night. The Gamecocks continue to come out and play hard, though they have lost one player after another. The latest casualty is C.J. Pace, who is now academically ineligible. A possible bright spot? Coach Walvius said that Lakesha Tolliver “may be available” in another 2 games or so. That’s hardly a guarantee, but as decimated as this team has been by illness and injury, anyone returning to the lineup is a cause for celebration.

Freshman point guard Ashlie Billingslea continues to rehabilitate the ACL she tore before the start of the season and made her second appearance of the season against the Wildcats. She shows tremendous promise, but clearly is not playing at 100% at this point. Her effort and leadership are impressive, but she has some work to do on conditioning and timing and being able to adjust to the pace of the SEC game.

Now 0-4 in the conference, the Gamecocks are getting desperate for a win. While the plan to qualify for postseason play is still intact, each loss pushes them closer to the point of no return. The formula now is to win all the remaining home games and win at least 2 of the 5 remaining home games. Impossible? No, not by any means. This team has the talent and the desire, but something is keeping them from getting over the hump and getting their first conference win, which becomes a factor in future games. Once that first win is accomplished, and this team KNOWS that they can win conference games, the pressure will be off and they can just concentrate on playing. The Gamecocks will enter every game as an underdog, from here on out–at least until they are able to win a game. Maybe that will help. Expectations have been high for this team, probably higher than they should have been. There is no denying that there is an abundance of talent and athleticism, but there is also an abundance of youth and inexperience–compounded by the illness, injuries and other losses this team has endured since the beginning of the season. They have worked hard and believe that they can still accomplish their team and season goals. It’s good that they still have that confidence; I hope they are right. Time will tell. The next opportunity comes at the end of the week.

The Gamecocks host the Florida Gators on Sunday afternoon; Tipoff is at 3 pm.