South Carolina Basketball Survives in Oxford for 33rd Straight

Dawn Staley’s South Carolina basketball team had a scoring margin of +33.5 points per game this season coming into their Sunday matchup with unranked Ole Miss in Oxford. The Rebels, led by fifth-year Head Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, are a pretty good team, but most were expecting a blowout at the Pavilion as the Gamecocks continued their pursuit of a perfect season.

Sunday’s matchup was decided NOT a blowout.

A brutal afternoon of shooting for the Gamecocks saw top scorers Zia Cooke and reigning National Player of the Year Aliyah Boston combine to go 11 for 32 from the floor. The poor shot-making resulted in Ole Miss taking the defending national champions to overtime.

The usually animated and intense Staley was rather reserved in overtime, demonstrating the poise she undoubtedly instructed her team to show. In the end, without any panic, talent reigned supreme, and the Gamecocks pulled ahead during the overtime period as Zia Cooke outscored the Rebels 5-2 by herself during the extra time.

Box Score

Ole Miss is a good team who will likely make the NCAA Tournament. South Carolina, though, has a chance to go down as one of women’s college basketball’s greatest teams ever. If the Gamecocks truly want to be part of that discussion, they certainly cannot have a repeat performance like this one where no player shot over 50% from the field.

A game like this will likely be good for the Gamecocks. Their pursuits of history (both an undefeated season and back-to-back national championships) are still completely intact. However, in case the Lady Gamecocks had forgotten their basketball mortality, they were reminded that they are not invincible when they were truly tested by a pesky Rebel squad. A game like this one should serve as a bit of a wake-up call for Dawn Staley’s team.

After recent wins over top-5 teams like UConn and LSU, a letdown was possible, but thankfully for the Gamecocks and their pursuit of perfection, they still pulled out the victory. Knowing the drive and passion Coach Staley and her players have for the game of basketball and the standards to which they hold themselves, expect a focused and devastating South Carolina basketball team down the stretch of the SEC season.

The Lady Gamecocks will look to win their 34th straight contest as they travel to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers on Pat Summitt Court on Thursday.