South Carolina women’s basketball wins big over Elon to start four-game home stretch
Amid a turbulent Thanksgiving holiday for The Associated Press top 10, South Carolina women’s basketball remains a solid No. 1.
The Gamecocks (7-0) began a four-game home stretch with a 79-38 win over Elon (4-1) Friday at Colonial Life Arena four days after returning from a championship run at the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
South Carolina defeated two top-10 teams — No. 2 UConn on Monday and No. 9 Oregon on Sunday — during its run in the Bahamas, receiving all 30 top votes in the AP poll released Tuesday.
While the Gamecocks held steady in their return to action, The AP top 10 was shook up throughout the Thanksgiving holiday. No. 2 Maryland fell to No. 5 N.C. State on Thursday. No. 7 Stanford defeated No. 4 Indiana on Thursday, but fell to No. 18 South Florida on Friday.
South Carolina led Elon by just 10 points at halftime, but an explosive second half led the way to a blowout victory for the Gamecocks on Friday.
Here’s what we learned about the Gamecocks in their win over Elon.
Gamecocks starters keep pace after quick lead
South Carolina opened on a 10-0 run over Elon and applied pressure throughout the first quarter. The Gamecocks ended the period with a 20-7 lead off 46.7% shooting from the field, 12 rebounds and six steals — all in the first 10 minutes.
South Carolina’s 20-4 lead in the first quarter pushed Elon to take a timeout with 1:23 to go in the first period. Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley opted to sit her starters after the timeout, but shaky performances from the USC bench early saw Staley trickle the starting five back onto the floor throughout the second quarter.
“The people that are coming into the game have to make an impact,” Staley said after the game. “When you’re playing basketball, it’s about decision making. ... (It) doesn’t matter what competition you’re going to play — high, low, mid — if you’re if you’re a good decision maker, you’re going to fit in with playing basketball. We have to play that way.”
Starters led the way to victory Friday.
Battle 4 Atlantis MVP Aliyah Boston had another strong showing against Elon, finishing with 12 points, four rebounds, three blocks and two steals in 21 minutes. Zia Cooke finished with 11 points and two rebounds in 22 minutes. Destanni Henderson totaled 10 points and added one steal and one block in 31 minutes. Brea Beal scored nine points and came up with eight rebounds, a block and a steal in 30 minutes. Victaria Saxton finished with six points, six rebounds, two steals and a block.
Beal said after the game the Gamecocks were “thrown off” by the 3 p.m. start time for the Elon game — considering the only other home game for South Carolina this season was a 7 p.m. tip vs. Clemson — but staying consistent regardless of the opponent is a focus point.
“We can’t change how we play for anybody,” Beal said. “I think that was big for this game. ... We have to lock in.”
South Carolina finished shooting 52.8% from the field, compared with Elon’s 28.1%.
South Carolina’s bench starts uneven, gets going late
The Gamecocks rotated six bench players in throughout the second quarter, and the three who took shots (Kamilla Cardoso, Laeticia Amihere and Saniya Rivers) were a combined 0-5 from the field in the second period.
The Gamecocks’ two points scored off the bench in the first half came off two free throws — one from Cardoso, one from Rivers.
Just after Elon cut a 16-point deficit down to five with 2:54 to go in the first half, the Gamecocks had returned all five members of their starting lineup.
The Phoenix outscored the Gamecocks 16-13 in the second quarter, and that line could’ve been steeper if not for production from the Gamecocks’ starters. Cooke and Henderson combined for five points in the half’s final 1:23 to bring South Carolina back to a double-digit lead at halftime, 33-23.
“I would blame me on the substitutions in the second quarter,” Staley said. “Because it ended up being five totally new players, one of them playing pretty much out of position, so I blame me for that. Then, in the second half, we just went shorter. We went shorter in the third quarter.”
Staley made substitutions in the second half but opted to have Henderson remain on the floor to keep control into the fourth quarter. Henderson was the last Gamecocks’ starter to leave the floor against Elon, and she went to the bench with USC at a 27-point lead.
“Once we made substitutions, we kept Henny out there just to control things, to make sure we’re not playing bad basketball,” Staley said. “We don’t want to play bad basketball, we don’t want to practice bad basketball, we don’t want to see bad basketball. And I think we controlled it a little bit more in the third quarter.”
South Carolina raced out to a 60-33 lead with 7:31 to go in the fourth quarter, and Staley returned all of the Gamecocks’ starters to the bench at that point.
The Gamecocks’ bench ended scoring 31 of South Carolina’s 79 points, with 29 of those points coming in the second half.
USC remains dominant in the post
Boasting a preseason All-American (Boston), reigning ACC Freshman of the Year (Cardoso) and a 2020 Olympian (Amihere) in the post, South Carolina continued its dominance in the paint over Elon.
South Carolina entered the matchup averaging 37 points in the paint — 48.9% of its total offense. Post players accounted for 64.9% of that production.
South Carolina scored 40 in the paint Friday, holding Elon to just 10 points in that area.
Next USC women’s basketball game
Who: South Carolina vs. North Carolina A&T
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.
Watch: SEC Network
Box score: South Carolina vs Elon
ELON (4-1)—Johnson 1-8 0-0 2, Liles 2-8 0-0 6, Nance 5-10 1-1 13, Perpignan 4-13 0-0 8, Taylor 0-2 0-0 0, Traore 1-3 0-0 2, McGill 1-2 0-0 2, Tasman 0-0 0-0 0, Carter 0-2 0-0 0, Harmon 2-7 0-0 5, James 0-2 0-0 0, Team 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 16-57 1-1 38
SOUTH CAROLINA (7-0)—Boston 5-8 2-2 12, Saxton 2-3 2-2 6, Beal 3-4 1-2 9, Cooke 4-10 2-4 11, Henderson 4-7 1-2 10, Amihere 2-8 2-2 7, Wesolek 0-0 0-0 0, Cardoso 3-5 1-2 7, Littleton 0-0 0-0 0, Thompson 1-1 0-0 3, Feagin 4-4 1-1 9, Hall 0-1 2-2 2, Rivers 0-1 1-2 1, Russell 0-1 2-2 2, Team 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 28-53 17-23 79
Halftime—South Carolina 33-23. 3-Point Goals—Elon 5-19 (Johnson 0-1, Liles 2-6, Nance 2-5, Perpignan 0-2, Carter 0-1, Harmon 1-3, James 0-1), South Carolina 6-11 (Beal 2-3, Cooke 1-2, Henderson 1-3, Amihere 1-1, Thompson 1-1, Rivers 0-1). Assists—Elon 7 (Perpignan 2), South Carolina 17 (Boston 3). Fouled Out—Elon Liles. Rebounds—Elon 21 (Team 5-5), South Carolina 45 (Saxton 5-6). Total Fouls—Elon 18, South Carolina 9. Technical Fouls—None. A—11,360.
This story was originally published November 26, 2021 at 4:58 PM with the headline "South Carolina women’s basketball wins big over Elon to start four-game home stretch."
