OT thriller! South Carolina outlasts Stanford in WBB clash of the titans
South Carolina and Stanford added another tight game to its budding rivalry Sunday.
The No. 1 Gamecocks overcame a 12-point deficit at Stanford’s Maples Pavilion and found a way to win the game in overtime, holding on for a 76-71 victory.
The Gamecocks (4-0) led Sunday’s game for a total of 3 minutes and 26 seconds, with leads coming when they mattered the most. South Carolina has now won three of the last four meetings against Stanford.
They have 16 straight wins against ranked teams, two coming this year — Dawn Staley has 101 victories at South Carolina over ranked teams.
USC stays on the West Coast for a Tuesday night game at Cal Poly.
Game recap
The Cardinal made it difficult to score inside early on Sunday. The team trapped USC star Aliyah Boston inside from the start, forcing her into two offensive fouls. Boston was limited to six first-half minutes.
Stanford led by as many as 12 in the first half, but the Gamecocks chipped away at the lead in the second quarter using mostly its bench unit.
Stanford got its groove back offensively in the third quarter and entered the final 10 minutes up by 10 points.
But USC never went away, slowly bringing the lead down in the fourth quarter and outscoring Stanford 17-7 in the final frame of regulation.
“We didn’t want to lose,” Boston said. “We didn’t want the bus ride or plane ride back to be boring and sad.”
Late in the game, down by four, South Carolina missed three 3-pointers on one possession. But USC managed to get the ball back, and Brea Beal got open for a 3-pointer that cut the lead to one.
After Stanford’s Haley Jones missed one of two free throws on the next possession, the door was opened for South Carolina to tie the game.
Boston did just that, getting free for a lean-in jumper that fell with 2.1 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
She continued the clutch performance in OT, making two inside shots that put the Gamecocks up for the first time since the game’s opening points. Boston later found Bree Hall for an open 3-pointer to give USC a four-point lead.
Madness ensued in the last 30 seconds. Laeticia Amihere came away with an offensive rebound after two Victaria Saxton misses at the free throw line, and South Carolina continued its possession after a dead ball.
Stanford elected not to foul with the shot clock turned off, and came away with a steal and called timeout with 10 seconds to go. But Jones took too long inbounding the ball, and a five-second violation gave USC another possession.
After Brea Beal missed two free throws, Stanford’s Kiki Iriafen called a timeout when the Cardinal had none remaining. This gave South Carolina two technical free throws — made by Zia Cooke — and the eventual victory.
STANFORD WALLS OFF THE PAINT
Stanford made a concerted effort to keep South Carolina away from the basket. The Gamecocks entered Sunday’s game averaging 48 points in the paint, and they came away with 36 against Stanford.
“They were just very aggressive,” Boston said. “My teammates, they stepped up and they were hitting shots and they were driving, attacking and finding the holes within the defense.”
South Carolina is not a team that specializes in outside shooting, though it did manage to make some open midrange shots. It got to the free-throw line for 23 attempts on Sunday, making 15.
USC made some timely 3-pointers in the game as well. The two biggest ones came from Hall in overtime.
SECOND QUARTER BENCH LIFT
The second unit for USC kept the team afloat in the second quarter.
Boston played just six first-half minutes after picking up two early offensive fouls. Staley used mostly reserve players to get things going.
She even played former walk-on Olivia Thompson, who hit a big 3-pointer to cut the Stanford lead to five.
South Carolina got 34 points from the bench unit on Sunday.
“Proud of that number, because often times, the people that are coming off the bench don’t stay for very long unless they’re playing extremely well,” Staley said.
ATMOSPHERE AT MAPLES
The Gamecocks and the Cardinal played in front of a sold-out crowd (7,287) on Sunday. It was the first time in eight years that the Maples Pavilion was sold out, according to ESPN.
Stanford fans made their presence felt, giving the team a boost after big scoring runs. The Gamecocks managed to quiet the crowd in spurts, particularly when the bench unit cut the lead to four in the second quarter.
This was the third game in South Carolina’s four-game road trip, so the team’s already faced tough crowds early on this season.
“We got a core group of players that have played in this environment,” Staley said. “We’re used to playing in a crowd. So I don’t think that had an impact on us.”
USC Stanford box score
USC—Boston 7-13 0-0 14, Saxton 1-3 0-2 2, Beal 2-7 1-4 7, Cooke 3-13 7-9 13, Fletcher 3-6 0-0 6, Amihere 3-7 3-4 9, Watkins 1-2 0-0 2, Cardoso 0-3 0-0 0, Johnson 2-7 0-0 4, Thompson 1-3 0-0 3, Feagin 1-1 2-2 4, Hall 4-8 2-2 12, Totals 28-73 15-23 76
STA—Brink 8-13 7-8 25, Iriafen 4-10 3-5 11, Jones 5-19 1-2 11, Jump 3-9 0-0 8, Lepolo 3-6 0-0 7, Belibi 0-1 0-0 0, Prechtel 2-6 0-0 5, Betts 2-2 0-0 4, Emma-Nnopu 0-0 0-0 0, Nivar 0-0 0-0 0, Demetre 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 27-66 11-15 71
Halftime—Stanford 35-31. 3-Point Goals—South Carolina 5-17 (Boston 0-1, Beal 2-5, Cooke 0-1, Fletcher 0-1, Johnson 0-3, Thompson 1-3, Hall 2-3), Stanford 6-17 (Brink 2-5, Jones 0-1, Jump 2-6, Lepolo 1-1, Prechtel 1-4). Assists—South Carolina 9 (Cooke 4), Stanford 15 (Jones 6, Lepolo 6). Fouled Out—South Carolina Boston, Stanford Brink. Rebounds—South Carolina 41 (Boston 13), Stanford 47 (Jones 9). Total Fouls—South Carolina 22, Stanford 20. Technical Fouls—Stanford Iriafen 1. A—7,287.
Next four South Carolina WBB games
Tuesday: at Cal Poly, 8 p.m.
Nov. 27: home vs. Hampton, noon (SEC Network Plus)
Nov. 29: home vs. UCLA, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Dec. 3: home vs. Memphis, 3 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
