Hello, Sweet 16! No. 1 Gamecocks battle past USF Bulls to advance in NCAAs
It’s back to Greenville for the Gamecocks.
No. 1 South Carolina defeated South Florida 76-45 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday in Colonial Life Arena.
South Florida took control of the game early on, getting out to an 8-3 lead. It was led by the offense of leading scorer Elena Tsineke, who finished with 17 points. The Bulls led 16-12 after 10 minutes.
South Carolina slowly began to regain control. The Bulls were shooting 4-of-9 from 3-point range by halftime, but USC led 33-29.
The Gamecocks created separation in the third quarter, tightening up on defense and outscoring South Florida 19-7. USC also took advantage of extra possessions, with 21 rebounds in that period alone.
At halftime, the USC players were “talking amongst each other before coach (Dawn Staley) comes in and just pointing out some things, some ideas we have,” senior guard Brea Beal said. “And just going out there and making that adjustment because we understand their playing style and adjustments they made.”
South Florida cooled off by the start of the fourth quarter, and South Carolina held on from there.
Aliyah Boston finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Gamecocks now move on to the Sweet 16, where they will face Monday’s winner of the UCLA-Oklahoma game. USC will play its next game on Saturday.
COOKE THRIVES IN THIRD QUARTER
Senior guard Zia Cooke shot 3-of-9 in the first half, but took over for South Carolina in the third quarter.
Cooke scored nine of her 21 points in the period on 4-of-7 shooting. Most of her offense came from close range shots, both from drives to the rim and fast-break points.
“I think in the first half, I was still trying to get a feel for their players and get a feel for who I was guarding,” Cooke said. “But down the road, I knew it was gonna open up.”
She scored an and-1 with 4:51 remaining in the quarter to give South Carolina a 13-point lead.
“Zia wants to win like you wouldn’t believe,” Staley said. “It works against her at times, and then it works for. It works against her in the first two quarters, and then the third quarter, I just thought she exploded and got some shots to go in.”
FRESHIES’ HOME FINALE
South Carolina’s 2019 recruiting class — known as the “Freshies” — likely shared the court together in Colonial Life Arena for the last time.
USC’s core group of Boston, Cooke, Beal, Laeticia Amihere and Olivia Thompson all joined the team at the same time, and the Gamecocks have a 127-8 record with them on the roster.
“They’ve had great careers here,” Thompson said. “They’ve really just transformed this team and the kind of program that we are. So it just feels really, really good to be a part of a legendary class, changing the culture of the team.
“We’re each other’s best friends, so it’s great to be a part of a group like this.”
Boston is widely considered to be the top pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft, with Cooke, Beal and Amihere appearing in mock draft boards as well.
The class does have an extra year of eligibility that the players could opt to use because of the COVID shortened 2019-20 season.
BACK TO THE SWEET 16
South Carolina notched its 10th Sweet 16 appearance under Dawn Staley.
USC will learn who its opponent is late Monday, when UCLA faces Oklahoma in the second round in Los Angeles. The winner of that game will face South Carolina at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, where the SEC Tournament was held.
The Bruins lost to USC during non-conference play in November in Colonial Life Arena.
The last time the Gamecocks did not make it past the Sweet 16 round was in 2019.
Game time for South Carolina’s Sweet 16 contest has not been set, but it’s expected to either be 11:30 a.m. or 2 p.m. Saturday.
“There’s still some things we can tweak,” Cooke said. “But I think South Carolina basketball is really looking good right now. I think we’re all locked into the main thing, which is winning. We’re not overlooking any team whatsoever.”
