South Carolina women's basketball: Freshmen lead rout of Coastal Carolina
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South Carolina wrapped up the pre-SEC portion of its schedule with a 102-39 rout of Coastal Carolina.
It took 14 seconds for South Carolina to score, and the Gamecocks never let up. They opened the game on a 13-2 run, and then finished the first quarter on a 12-0 run. South Carolina led 30-6 after the first quarter, tied for its highest-scoring quarter of the season.
The Gamecocks had runs of 8-0 and 7-0 in the second quarter and led 53-17 at halftime. They began the second half with a 12-2 run and by the media timeout Dawn Staley had pulled all of her starters except Zia Cooke. Cooke helped run point for the freshmen for a couple more minutes before her day was done, too.
South Carolina led 79-34 going into the fourth quarter, and went on a 12-0 run for good measure. An 11-0 run came minutes later, and South Carolina finished with a season-high 102 points. “Merry Christmas to us, right?” said Coastal Carolina coach Kevin Pederson.
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“I’ve never seen a team like this. They’re such a special team,” he said. “They’re not just talented, they outwork you as well.”
South Carolina made a season-high 43 field goals and had a season-high 23 assists. They shot 57.3%, the second-best mark of the season. South Carolina also had a season-high 64 rebounds, and had 23 offensive rebounds on just 32 missed shots. The Gamecocks also blocked a season-high 16 shots.
Aliyah Boston needed just 13 minutes to record her eighth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. She also added three blocks and two assists.
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“She’s the best college player in the country,” Dawn Staley said. “Let’s not forget that.”
Cooke had 14 points and tied her career-high with five assists. After sitting out the last game, Laeticia Amihere had a strong game with 11 points, four rebounds, three blocks, and three steals.
None of the upperclassmen played more than Cooke’s 16 minutes, so the second half largely belnged to the freshmen, with sophomore Sania Feagin providing “veteran” leadership. Feagin and Ashlyn Watkins took turns posting up, and when they weren’t scoring they were dropping off passes to each other.
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Watkins had career-highs with 16 points and three assists, plus seven rebounds. Feagin had 13 points and seven rebounds.
“I think I’ve been doing well, but I definitely think I can be better and do more things,” Watkins said.
Raven Johnson went scoreless, but set a new career-high with seven assists, and tied her career-high with five rebounds. Talaysia Cooper had nine points and six rebounds. Chloe Kitts had two points, and three rebounds.
Notes:
Associate head coach Lisa Boyer broke out her legendary Christmas Elf outfit for ugly sweater day. … South Carolina has one more non-conference game to play. The Gamecocks visit UConn on February 5. … Olivia Thompson played three minutes early in the fourth quarter and went 1-2 from three. … Boston, Watkins, Kamilla Cardoso, Amihere, and Feagin each had three blocks. Victoria Saxton had the other block. … Bree Hall went scoreless, joining Johnson as the only players who ddin’t score. … Aliyah Boston braids report: Boston sported red and green holiday braids. … Dawn Staley fit report: Staley wore a red and white Balenciaga Christmas hoodie. … Announced attendance was 11,649. … South Carolina is off for Christmas and does not play again until it begins SEC play on December 29 against Texas A&M.
