No. 1 South Carolina completes road trip with dominant victory against Cal Poly

Jeremiah Holloway

The No. 1 South Carolina women’s basketball team is heading back to Columbia after a long yet perfect road trip.

The Gamecocks defeated Cal Poly 79-36 on Tuesday to complete four-straight games away from Colonial Life Arena.

South Carolina (5-0) got out to a 14-0 start against the Mustangs (2-3) in the game played at the Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo, California.

USC finished the first half with 33 points, its lowest halftime total against an unranked team so far this season. The Gamecocks turned it over nine times in the first half, with four offensive fouls.

“Wathcing them on film, we knew they were going to play for 40 minutes,” Staley said. “We knew that we out-talent them, but surely, we weren’t going to out-work them.

The team came out of the break more polished. It outscored Cal Poly 23-5 in the third quarter. From there, USC cruised to victory to keep its undefeated record.

Aliyah Boston recorded her fourth double-double of the year with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

MAKING PLAYS ON DEFENSE

South Carolina blocked 13 shots against the Mustangs. The team came into the game averaging nine rejections per outing.

Beal, the team’s leader in blocks, ended with four on Tuesday. She’s played hounding defense all season, making it difficult on opposing perimeter players.

USC used its height advantage once again to contest shots and send them away as well.

The team also ended up with eight steals against Cal Poly.

ANOTHER DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR BOSTON

Boston came away with the 12-point, 10-rebound double-double against the Mustangs.

That’s the fourth double-double in five games for Boston this season. She finished last season with 30 and is up to 64 in her career.

She needed just three quarters to record the double-double against Cal Poly on Tuesday.

GAMECOCKS COMPLETE ROAD TRIP

South Carolina went 4-0 on the road this month. USC won three of those four games by double figures.

The team picked up wins against Maryland, Clemson and Stanford before defeating the Mustangs on Tuesday.

South Carolina averaged 80.3 points per game in the four-game road trip.

The team won’t leave Columbia again until it plays South Dakota State on Dec. 15, and its next four games will be played at Colonial Life Arena.

Staley said after the game that the team looked “sluggish” in the first half, and she noted that the team needs to win games in short amounts of time later in the year to win in the postseason.

“You gotta win on a Friday and a Sunday for national championship. You gotta win a Friday, Saturday, Sunday if you want to win the SEC tournament championship,” Staley said. “We’re just making it known to our players that when fatigue sets in, something else has to kick in.”

NEXT FOUR SOUTH CAROLINA WBB GAMES

  • Sunday: home vs. Hampton, noon (SEC Network Plus)

  • Nov. 29: home vs. No. 20 UCLA, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)

  • Dec. 3: home vs. Memphis, 3 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

  • Dec. 11: home vs. Liberty, 2 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

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