South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley is never afraid to schedule a difficult out-of-conference slate for her team. This year, the Gamecocks have games against Notre Dame, Maryland, Clemson, South Dakota State, North Carolina, Duke, Utah, East Carolina, and UConn.
Sunday’s contest was the neutral site showdown between the Gamecocks and the 11th-ranked Utah Utes in Connecticut as part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase.
The game was ugly.
Turnovers and fouls (especially offensive fouls) marred a game between two of the country’s best teams and two of the country’s best post players. Kamilla Cardoso and Alissa Pili both got into foul trouble (though Pili played through it), and the teams combined for 40 turnovers and 41 fouls.
A lightning-fast start saw the Gamecocks shoot 10-12 from the floor, but then the game devolved into trading turnovers and fouls as Alissa Pili took advantage of the backup bigs that had to play in the 2nd quarter after Cardoso and Ashlyn Watkins were sitting with foul trouble. She scored 14 points in the period and kept Utah in the game.
Despite the turnovers and offensive fouls, the Gamecocks had four players in double-figures, and the team shot 54.5% from the field. Pili ended up with a career-high 37 for Utah, but the rest of the team had just 32 points on 13-39 shooting.
South Carolina basketball held on for the 78-69 victory for their fourth ranked win of the year.