Apologies to all for the lateness of this posting. It was about 12:30 am when I got home from Clemson and I am not a “night person” to begin with. There was no way I could get an article written before morning and, when morning came, I remembered that I had a full-time job I had to go to. It’s lunch break now, so here goes.
I don’t know why Clemson saves up their best effort for this matchup, each year—well, that’s a lie. Of course I know why they give a killer effort against South Carolina! There is a reason, after all, why this is a cutthroat rivalry. And they did it again. A team with only a slightly better record than the Gamecocks, last season, really took it to the South Carolina women and never backed off. The statistics show a very even match, but the Gamecocks were outplayed in a few very important categories: REBOUNDING, field goal percentage and blocked shots. The Gamecocks assisted Clemson with their first half field goal percentage by leaving perimeter shooters wide open, at times. Clemson made the most of the opportunities given to them.
South Carolina may have come out with some butterflies at the start of the game, but got over it much more quickly than at the season opener in Charlotte. A few missed layups, early in the game, seemed to suggest some nervousness. But the real killer was the lack of rebounding—or more precisely, the failure to block out when the shots went up—especially in the first half of the game. Sophomore post Charenee Stephens, who led the team in rebounding in the opener, did not make the trip to Clemson. Redshirt sophomore guard Courtney Newton, reportedly recovering from a concussion suffered in practice, made the trip but did not dress out. No official word has been received on either player.
At any rate, this was a game that was played at breakneck speed, with drama to spare. The Gamecocks hit the first shot of the game, a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Lakeisha Sutton. Then Clemson grabbed the lead and did not relinquish it for the rest of the first half. The first half ended with the Tigers ahead by 41-37.
After halftime adjustments, the Gamecocks climbed back into the game and enjoyed the lead for a few possessions, but Clemson kept coming back. With the score tied at 72, Sutton was unable to hit her last-second shot, forcing the game into overtime.
In the second overtime, the teams traded baskets and it started looking like a third overtime period would be needed. Most of the players appeared exhausted, but continued to keep up the same pace that defined the rest of the game. Junior guard Valerie Nainima hit a free throw to tie the game with 7.5 seconds left on the clock. The Gamecocks defense on the inbounds pass was incredibly tight and effective and it looked as though there would be another period of play—Sophomore center Shaniqua Pauldo had tossed up a prayer of a 3-pointer and missed it. THEN…the whistle came. Amazingly (or maybe not) Carolina’s freshman center Kelsey Bone was flagged with her fifth foul of the game and Pauldo hit 1 of her 3 shots to give Clemson the lead. On Pauldo’s final missed shot, teammate Lele Hardy, a senior wing, got the rebound and was fouled by Gamecock freshman forward Ashley Bruner, her fifth foul. Hardy hit one and got the rebound on her miss to seal the win for Clemson.
Kelsey Bone again scored a double-double for Carolina, leading the team in scoring and rebounding with 32 points and 14 rebounds. It was a quietly dominant performance in a very flashy game. Teammates Sutton, Nainima and junior guard Samone Kennedy joined her in scoring in double figures with 22, 19 and 13 points, respectively. Kennedy also had 5 assists and 3 steals, while Sutton contributed 6 rebounds to the cause.
The absence of Charenee Stephens in the paint hurt the rebounding effort, which Clemson won 50-41. Four Clemson players also scored in double figures, led by junior guard Sthefany Thomas (no, that is not a typo, she actually spells it that way) with 21 points. Hardy led the team in rebounds with 11.
As previously mentioned, this is a long-standing rivalry. Sometimes you get the impression that people from Clemson simply do not like people from Carolina, and vice versa. I have to mention that the event staff did not give that impression at all; they were very friendly and polite as I strolled in wearing the brightest, shiniest garnet football jersey that I own. But the fans and students are definitely a different story. This game was so fast and physical and hard-fought that the fans got seriously caught up in it and not necessarily in a good way. It was an extremely exciting game, assuming that you didn’t have a favorite team in the contest—but how many people do you know who go to a Clemson/Carolina game and really don’t care who wins? To say that this contest was heated would be a serious understatement and the heat was felt in the stands, as much as anywhere else. Carolina brought about 60 pretty loud fans on the road with them (and 15-20 others who were more restrained.)
Is there anything left to say before I take on the officiating? No, afraid not. Keep in mind here that the officials whistled 49 fouls in this game, not to mention another 42 turnovers. If there was a fan in the building for either side that wasn’t hoping they would swallow those whistles by the end of regulation, I would like to meet that person. This crew was led by the erstwhile Eric Brewton, who felt sufficiently threatened during the first overtime period to have a Carolina fan ejected from the Coliseum. It wasn’t a bogus move; the fan had left his seat, moved onto the stairs and was standing about 15 feet from Brewton (with the press row table between them) berating his abilities, when Brewton first warned him and then beckoned for security to remove him.
Have you ever been to one of those games where you barely even notice that there ARE game officials, where the action moves along and the teams play and the fans cheer and everyone is just caught up in watching the game? Well, this was not one of those games. As mentioned above, the turnovers and the fouls were coming fast and furious, all game long. And, as you might expect, that combination had fans pretty frustrated. I know that the Carolina fans were frustrated—I didn’t really notice the Clemson crowd’s demeanor. (I make it a policy not to engage the fans of opposing teams, including even eye contact, most of the time. Very little good can come from that.) I know that Clemson head coach Cristy McKinney took serious exception to a few calls, as did Dawn Staley for the Gamecocks. I think there were 4 offensive foul calls in the first half; I know that all of them were against the Gamecocks. I don’t think that reflected the reality of the game, but it’s not my job to call it. I know that I made about 6 travelling calls that the refs did not agree with, not all of them against Clemson, either. And I think that when you are blowing the whistle nearly 100 times in a game, you are giving yourself that many more chances to make mistakes on all of those calls. I think that there is a possibility that the officials in this game took too big a part in controlling the play and affected the game more than an official should. They are there to keep order, not to dictate play.
Even with shoddy officiating, and I didn’t say that it WAS shoddy in this game, it has to be said that the teams know that it can (and WILL) happen and they just need to find a way to play through it. The Gamecocks might well have managed that, with slightly better shooting (they took 8 more shots than Clemson, hit 40 percent of those and you win) slightly better rebounding and a few fewer turnovers. I don’t know what accounts for the defensive lapses that left shooters wide open, especially in the first half—but if Coach Staley knows (she does get the big bucks, after all) she can deal with that, too. The players couldn’t be faulted on their effort, but their efficiency can probably be improved in future games.
The Gamecocks’ home opener, against the Penn State Lady Lions, is Sunday at 3 pm in the friendly confines (Finally!) of the Colonial Life Arena.
