I guess it’s true that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior; at least, it certainly seems to be the case for the South Carolina basketball team. In Gainesville, the Gamecocks fell into an old pattern: the slow start, along with gifts to the opposing team in the form of points off of turnovers. Thankfully, the ending was a bit different than it has usually been this difficult season. Oh, I’m sorry! Did I spoil the ending for you?

The Gamecocks’ slow start put them in a familiar place in the first half of play: down 9 points with 9:56 to play. Then, the Gamecocks started clawing their way back into the game–something else they have done quite often, this season. Ebony Jones came off of the bench, a couple of minutes before the charge, to provide some leadership and stability while the Gamecocks made their run. With 2:15 to play, freshman Jordan Jones hit a 3-point basket to tie the game for the first time. The teams traded a few baskets and Jones hit another 3-point shot with 30 seconds left to give USC it’s first lead of the game. The Gamecocks went into the locker room with a 31-29 lead. After having started the game shooting 15% (1-7 from the floor) the Gamecocks got it together and finished the half with a 36% shooting percentage, including 5 -10 from 3-point range, and tied the Gators on the glass with 21 rebounds apiece. The Gamecocks had only 6 turnovers in the first half, but no scoring from the 3 starting post players. In the second half, the Gamecocks slowly built a lead for themselves, despite continuing difficulties for the post players. Demetress Adams picked up her fourth foul at the 13:15 mark and senior center Ilona Burgrova also picked up her fourth personal foul, seconds later. With 13 minutes left to play, Jordan Jones hit her 5th 3-pointer of the game to give USC an 11 point lead. At 9:03, the Gamecocks were leading by 9 points, when Adams went to the bench with 4 fouls.

A couple of minutes later, the Florida team began their final run, reeling off 7 points before Brionna Dickerson scored on a pair of free throws with 2:26 to play and halted the Florida scoring streak. Play got a bit frenzied during the last 2 minutes of play, but the Gamecocks kept their cool and were able to overcome their mistakes, such as when senior forward Lakesha Tolliver–amazingly–stepped into the court with the ball on the inbounds play. The Gamecocks only led by 3 at that point, but stepped up and got a couple of crucial rebounds to stay alive. With only 10 seconds to play, Adams grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled, then sank both free throws to increase the lead to 4 points. Florida cruised in for a barely-contested layup to cut the lead back to 2 points and fouled Samone Kennedy with 3.1 seconds left. Kennedy hit both ends of the 1-and-1 to give the Gamecocks the win.

The freshmen led the way for the Gamecocks today: Jordan Jones scored 16 points and point guard Samone Kennedy celebrated her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 assists. Junior forward Demetress Adams, despite her foul troubles, scored 9 points and contributed 11 rebounds. Marshae Dotson led the way for Florida, with 17 points and 7 rebounds. Depree Bowden and Sha Brooks added 12 and 10 points, respectively. The hard-fought win, withstanding Florida runs and answering them, overcoming the pressure and a vocal audience cheering for their collapse, should give the Gamecocks some added confidence as they play the final stretch of the season, seeking an improved seeding for the Southeastern Conference tournament. The Gamecocks are now 3-9 and in sole possession of 10th place in the SEC standings.

The Gamecocks return to the friendly confines of the Colonial Center on Thursday to take on the Georgia Lady Bulldogs and celebrate Senior Night. Tipoff is at 7 pm.

WATCH HOW THE GAMECOCKS TOOK THE LEAD IN THE FIRST HALF BY VISITING OUR BLOG, HERE.