South Carolina women's basketball: Seniors lead comeback win over Indiana

“Take a left on the interstate/In the middle of this sultry state/I can’t wait to see your face/In Birmingham” (Drive-By Truckers – “Birmingham”)

South Carolina’s seniors helped rally the Gamecocks from a halftime deficit to beat Indiana 64-53 and advance to the Sweet 16 for the 11th straight tournament.

South Carolina scored 108 points and shot 67% in its first round win on Friday, but that offense was nowhere to be found in the first have against Indiana. 

The Gamecocks shot just 23.5% in the first quarter and 34.5% for the half. They trailed the Hoosiers by three after scoring just nine points in the first quarter, and 26-25 at halftime.

Behind Te-Hina Paopao, Sania Feagin, and Bree Hall, South Carolina turned it around in the third quarter. There was no grand halftime speech to spur the comeback, just an emphasis on relaxing and simplifying.

“The first half, I feel like we were overthinking a lot of things, we weren’t keeping it simple, and I feel like when we keep things simple and do what we do we play great basketball,” Paopao said. “We were rushing a lot of shots and weren’t locked in on making lay-ups today, and at halftime, we told each other we’re good, keep it simple, make lay-ups, and find the open person.”

Paopao had two blocks and a steal and Feagin scored twice during a 13-4 run to start the third. Sydney Parrish answered with a three and Indiana called a timeout, but then Hall and Paopao combined for a 7-0 run, and Hall’s transition three put South Carolina up by double figures for the first time all game.

South Carolina outscored Indiana 26-14 in the third and shot 68.8%. The Gamecocks also got six points off of five Hoosier turnovers.

In the fourth quarter, the Gamecocks pounded the ball inside to Feagin, Chloe Kitts, and Joyce Edwards to preserve the win.

“It’s a little unnerving because it’s not how you envision execution. I thought we were getting great looks. They just wouldn’t fall,” Dawn Staley said. “We’re a very efficient post group of bigs, so sooner or later, somebody is going to get on course to do what they normally do. I think we settled in. I think our defense got a lot better in the third quarter and afforded us a lead to the point where we just held on and got the win.”

Kitts finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for her third career tournament double-double. 

Feagin had 10 points and three rebounds. Hall led the Gamecocks with 11 points. Paopao finished with nine points, four blocks, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

“It’s huge. We have to lean on our most experienced players,” Staley said. “They’ve been here before. They’ve done it time and time again, through being on the court or just seeing it from sitting on the bench. That is experience, being in these situations. We don’t take any of that for granted. We didn’t think we were just going to walk over two opponents in the first and second round, but getting to a Sweet 16 is hard. It’s hard, and to do it in as many consecutive years as we’ve done it, it doesn’t get old. It’s not taken for granted, and we cherish the opportunity to move to the second weekend in the NCAA Tournament.”

Shay Ciezki led all scorers with 12 points, and Karoline Striplin had 11 points. Leading scorer Yarden Garzon had 10 points, but on 4-13 shooting. She added eight points and four assists. Sydney Parrish finished with six points, four rebounds, and four assists. 

Chloe Moore-McNeil had 10 points in the first 15:30 of the game but then did not score the rest of the way. 

Despite the miserable offense in the first quarter, South Carolina ended up shooting 43.6% for the game. Indiana only shot 41.2%.

Notes:
South Carolina wore its “Cocky” alternates. … Rapper Plies attended the game. He sat behind the Gamecok bench. … Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie, Staley’s former Olympic teammate, also sat behind the bench. … Tessa Johnson went 4-4 from the free throw line in the final minute to seal the win. She finished with nine points. … South Carolina outrebounded Indiana by 10 and got 18 points off of 16 turnovers. Indiana had just 12 points off of 12 turnovers. … Dawn Staley’s outfit: Staley wore a garnet jacket over a white t-shirt and pants. … Announced attendance was 12,322. South Carolina set a new single-season total attendance record, but did not set the single-season average attendance record. … South Carolina’s next game is Friday in the Sweet 16 in Birmingham. Time and opponent are TBD.

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