Bree Hall's career-high leads South Carolina women's basketball over Missouri

South Carolina Women’s Basketball: News • Recruiting • Schedule • Roster • Stats • SEC Standings • NCAA Polls • Scholarship Chart

---

Bree Hall scored a career-high 21 and #1 South Carolina withstood another tough challenge at Missouri to win 81-57.

For South Carolina, Mizzou Arena has been a house of horrors since the Tigers joined the SEC. Since the first season in 2012-13 South Carolina has a 2-4 record in the other Columbia, nearly a quarter of their 20 total conference losses during that span.

At times on Thursday, it looked like those ghosts would haunt South Carolina again. Starters Kamilla Cardoso and Chloe Kitts got in early foul trouble on some questionable calls and Missouri was able to hit some threes and hang around.

Dawn Staley adjusted the lineup in the second quarter, going with more shooting and quickness. Missouri took a 20-18 lead, but then the changes took hold. Te-Hina Paopao, Tessa Johnson, and Hall made three consecutive threes to take the lead for good. 

“We haven’t had a lot of success here, but when you do you feel good about it because it’s a tough place to play,” Dawn Staley said.

South Carolina outscored Missouri 23-8 to finish the half, but had to withstand one more Missouri run. Hayley Frank hit back-to-back threes to start the third quarter and Missouri opened with a 9-2 run. The Tigers got as close as 47-42, but Hall hit a jumper to end the run. 

[GamecockCentral for $1: In-depth coverage and a great community]

South Carolina pushed its lead back to 13 to end the third and wore down Missouri in the fourth quarter.

Hall hit her first six shot attempts and finished 8-10 from the floor and 4-4 from three. She also had four rebounds and two blocks and was the one player Missouri had no answer for.

“That three ball was something today,” Hall said on the SEC Network broadcast. “I told my teammates I’m feeling live and deadly today.”

“She’s in a groove, she’s been playing extremely well on both sides of the basketball,” Staley said. “What you’re seeing is a junior. She sat on the bench a lot her first two years and then she has an opportunity to start and play an integral role on our team. She’s proving why experience is a real thing.”

Paopao added 15 points and hit 3-4 from three. Raven Johnson finished with 10 points and three steals.

Cardoso had just seven points and eight rebounds, while Kitts was held to two points and two rebounds. They struggled against Missouri’s small lineup, which essentially uses five guards.

Staley turned to Ashlyn Watkins and Sania Feagin, quicker players, for much of the second half. 

“I thought we had a pretty good group on the floor that had some chemistry out there,” Staley said. “It was half our starters and half the players that come off the bench and they just had really good chemistry. I thought after their second quarter performance we had to find a way to get them back in the game together.”

Watkins and Feagin each scored 10 points. Watkins added six rebounds and two blocks, while Feagin had four rebounds and a team-high four assists.

Frank and Ashton Judd each had 16 points to lead Missouri. Missouri finished the game 10-25 from three.

Related: South Carolina-Missouri box score

Notes:

Sahnya Jah did not make the trip due to illness. … Mama Dembele did not play for Missouri due to a knee injury. … Injured freshman Adhel Tac, who enrolled last week, traveled with the team for the first time but was not available to play. … Tessa Johnson played well off the bench and contributed six points. … MiLaysia Fulwiley was held scoreless for the first time in her career. She was 0-5 and 0-3 from three. … Dawn Staley’s outfit: Staley wore a black hoodie with a lace-up shoulder and back. … Announced attendance was 4,533. … South Carolina’s next game is Monday against Kentucky.

Discuss South Carolina women’s basketball on The Insiders Forum!