South Carolina Basketball: Gamecocks’ road to history begins with a blowout
By Kevin Miller
1/6. The South Carolina basketball team has won one of six total games needed to win the NCAA Tournament and a second consecutive national championship. After a slight delay due to the previous game going to overtime on Friday, the Norfolk State Spartans came to Colonial Life Arena and ran into a buzzsaw.
The Gamecocks were favorites by more than 48 points, despite the Spartans having the top scoring defense in the nation at just 50 points allowed per game. The Gamecocks would not cover, but they blew past that 50-point threshold.
The game started with a block party. Five first-quarter blocks from Aliyah Boston, Brea Beal, Ashlyn Watkins, and Zia Cooke went a long way in holding Norfolk State to just seven points in the period. The offensive production was also there early for South Carolina as they managed 20 points on 60% shooting. Raven Johnson and Brea Beal passed the ball extremely well in a first quarter that ended with a 20-7 lead.
Coach Staley was extremely frustrated with her team in the second quarter as they finished the half with six turnovers that directly led to almost half of Norfolk State’s points. The Gamecocks also had their third 2+ minute scoring drought of the game during the early portion of the second. 2x MEAC Defensive Player of the Year Camille Downs picked up her third foul, but the Gamecocks still couldn’t score. A fourth drought kept South Carolina off the scoreboard (except for a free throw) for the final four minutes of the half. A 34-18 lead felt as if it should be significantly larger.
The first half was not South Carolina’s best half of basketball. Despite a huge size advantage, the Gamecocks were matched in rebounding, including surrendering 12 offensive boards to the Spartans. Free throw shooting was bad all around as the two teams combined to go 10-24 from the line. After 60% shooting from the floor in the first quarter, Carolina finished the half at 40.7% after throwing up brick after brick in the second. Second-quarter scoring was close at 14-11.
Dawn Staley must have gotten into her team in the locker room during the intermission because things looked very different after halftime. The shooting woes continued early, but they started showing the aggressive brand of rebounding that the team has been known to play with all season. They dominated on the boards in the third quarter by grabbing 16 rebounds, 13 more than the Spartans. The defensive effort increased, as well.
Norfolk State made just two field goals in the third quarter, and after a 12-0 run to close out the quarter, the Gamecocks grew their lead to 56-26. The fourth period was much like many fourth quarters this season: the starters played the first couple of minutes but soon relinquished their spots on the court to the reserves.
Perhaps most importantly, because of the excellent third quarter, the Gamecock starters got plenty of rest. Ashlyn Watkins, Laeticia Amihere, Bree Hall, Raven Johnson, and Sania Feagin provided really good minutes off the bench even before garbage time in the fourth quarter.
Even with the subpar first-half effort, the South Carolina basketball team was utterly dominant. The Gamecocks held Norfolk State to single-digit scoring in three of the four quarters of the game and led the Spartans in every single statistical category while also holding them to just 26.2% shooting for the game. No individual stat lines stood out for the Gamecocks as so few players saw significant minutes in the 72-40 blowout.
The Gamecocks will take on the South Florida Bulls on Sunday in the NCAA Tournament’s second round. The Bulls won an overtime classic over Marquette on Friday. It is of note that Bree Hall left the game against Norfolk State with a scratched eye, and Kierra Fletcher still did not look 100% on her sprained ankle.