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Home > SECWB News & More! > SEC Teams > South Carolina > Gamecocks Roll Into WNIT’s Second Round
Gamecocks Roll Into WNIT’s Second Round
by Marilyn McManus, SECWB.com
Posted: March 22nd, 2008 @ 12:52am
Source: View Box Score
The South Carolina Gamecocks got off to a rocky start against the North Carolina A& T Aggies, tonight, but made some quick adjustments and then got on a roll. When the smoke lifted, they had a 102-74 win over NC A&T. It wasn’t as close as the score might indicate. Though the Gamecocks threw a scare into the tiny, but vocal and supportive crowd by falling behind 10-2 after only two and a half minutes of play, they got down to business after that. Serious business. It was a very fast and physical game, with bodies flying everywhere and occasionally landing, hard, on the floor. Both teams cranked up the tempo and tossed up shots like they were going out of style. Both teams played tight, pressing, man-to-man defense for most of the game. Happily, a few Gamecocks caught fire in the first half and turned the game around. Brionna Dickerson shot 5-7 from the field and 3-3 from the 3-point line, Demetress Adams hit 6 of 7 shots from the field, and Jordan Jones was 4-9 and 3-6 from 3-point range–most of those shots taken from well behind the arc. Samone Kennedy, the speediest Gamecock, suffered a few mishaps while directing the offense, but she frustrated the defense with her ball-handling and hit 3-4 shots in the first half. Mistakes were quickly forgotten as the Gamecocks hustled from one end of the floor to the other, displaying both mental toughness and physical stamina. The Gamecocks combined for 67.7% shooting in the first half, yet took only a 10 point lead into the locker room. Maybe it was the eighteen turnovers?
Happily, the Gamecocks came back out of the locker room with the same intensity and really poured it on for the next eleven minutes. With nine minutes to play in the game, South Carolina had a 42 point lead. At that point, head coach Susan Walvius flooded the floor with freshmen. An all-freshman lineup played for about the next 4 minutes, but the quality of play was deteriorating as they seemed more intent on getting every player in the scoring column than in following the general game plan. The effort was excellent, but the shot selection was not, and some more experienced players came back into the game. Both teams continued to run, but the Gamecocks backed off and started burning more of the clock, allowing A&T to narrow the gap somewhat. The crowd was screaming for a 100-point game and despite slowing the pace and some sloppy shooting, they were rewarded.
Jordan Jones led the Gamecocks with 31 points, breaking the WNIT record (and tying a South Carolina record) by hitting 9 3-pointers in the game. Brionna Dickerson was hot on her heels with 25 points on 11-13 shooting, along with Demetress Adams’ 18 points and 9 rebounds and Lakesha Tolliver’s 14 points on 6-7 shooting.
The Aggies were led by Amber Bland with 18 points and Lamona Smalley with 11. Despite forcing 25 Gamecocks turnovers, they were unable to capitalize on those mistakes, scoring only 22 points off of turnovers.(The Gamecocks scored 21 points off of 17 A&T turnovers.) The difference was fast break points, where the Gamecocks dominated: 38 points to 8 for the Aggies.
The Gamecocks’ reward for this win is to travel to Raleigh on Monday night to face the North Carolina State Wolfpack. The game begins at 7 pm..
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