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Home > SECWB News & More! > SEC Teams > Mississippi > Gamecocks Defeat Rebels for Second SEC Win, 71-62
Gamecocks Defeat Rebels for Second SEC Win, 71-62
by Marilyn McManus, SECWB.com
Posted: February 11th, 2008 @ 11:13am
Source: View Box Score
South Carolina came out strong today, avoiding some of the mistakes that have plagued them in past games, and held on to defeat Ole Miss, 71-62. Instead of falling behind early, as has too often been the case this season, the Gamecocks stayed in this game, never trailing the visiting team by more than 5 points in the first half, and closing strong to go into the break with the score tied 27-27. This game was close throughout, giving South Carolina a chance to use a strong second half to secure a win, instead of wasting their energy to erase a huge deficit. It was a welcome change.
Things looked a little different today than they usually do; Demetress Adams was hampered by foul trouble and only played 17 minutes before fouling out with 4 points and 5 rebounds, well below her usual contribution. Despite a mediocre shooting effort (36 %) the Gamecocks made the most of their points and had more points off of turnovers than the Lady Rebels. Brionna Dickerson led the scoring with 14 points, while both Jordan and Ebony Jones had 12 points and Lakesha Tolliver added 10, with 8-9 from the free throw line. Ebony Jones stepped up and provided the spark the team was looking for, shooting 4-6 and scoring her 12 points in only 21 minutes of play. Ilona Burgrova, scoreless in the first half, came alive in the second half, with 8 points and 10 rebounds to help keep things close.
With Adams in foul trouble, Jasmine Payne and Jewel May both put in some time. Payne played only 10 minutes (it seemed like a lot longer, as she was all over the court) but scored 6 points and hauled down 6 rebounds in that short time. She scored the last 4 points of the first half on two free throws and a layup and brought the crowd to their feet with her energetic play.
It was an extremely physical game that nearly got out of control during the second half. Then the officiating crew decided to get into the act–after failing to object to free-for-all tactics in the first half--and both teams spent a good deal of time at the free throw lines: 17 shots for Ole Miss and 19 shots for USC in the second half. Once again, I have to say that the officiating for SEC games just doesn’t seem quite up to par. Yes, the fans have the benefit of hindsight, in some instances, when they get to see instant replays of a call. But if the refs can’t see a play, they should not make a call. Some calls were simply ludicrous: a player trips over her own feet and lands at the feet of the defensive player, who is called for a foul; a player running alongside another gets an elbow squarely in her back and falls and is called for a foul; a player is “displaced” about 4 feet from her position by a charging opponent–that one a “no call”; I could go on all night. And don’t even bring up palming the ball... But I digress!
Ole Miss was led by their usual trio of Shawn Goff(16 pts.), Carla Bartee(15 pts) and Shantell Black (12 pts.). Bartee also led the team in rebounding, with 9 boards. Black and the other starting guard, Kayla Melson, both fouled out of the game. The Lady Rebels were in the game, the entire way, and did not give up until the handwriting was on the wall with 24 seconds left and the Gamecocks in possession of the ball. Thank you, Renee Ladner, for not turning the game into a foul-shooting farce at the end of the game.
The South Carolina Gamecocks moved out of the SEC basement with the win.(Alabama now owns last place, no need to share.) Despite too many turnovers (24), the Gamecocks were able to recover from poor shooting in the first half, not allow an Ole Miss run and maintain their composure throughout the game. They played with confidence, using a variety of lineups, and stayed focused from tip-off to the final buzzer. They looked like a team with a mission and a team that expects to win. More play like that and they could do some climbing in the SEC rankings.
The next game is a road trip to Auburn next Sunday. Tipoff is 3 pm ET.
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