South Carolina women's basketball: Zia Cooke helps the Gamecocks survive in overtime
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Zia Cooke scored 23 points, including five in overtime, to help South Carolina escape with a 64-57 win over Ole Miss.
South Carolina led by six early in the fourth quarter, but Ole Miss chipped away. Angel Baker scored five straight points to give Ole Miss a 55-54 lead with 1:20 left, the Rebels’ first lead since it was 4-2.
A free throw by Aliyah Boston tied the game with 30 seconds left and then neither team was able to make a game-winner.
Cooke scored to begin overtime as South Carolina went to its bread-and-butter: feed the post and let Cooke find the openings. Baskets by Kamilla Cardoso and Boston sandwiched around a Myah Taylor jumper, put South Carolina up four.
The Cooke sealed the win. Cardoso forced a missed layup, and Cooke grabbed the rebounds and raced coast-to-coast for a layup. Ole Miss called timeout, now trailing 63-57 with 1:30 left. On the ensuing possession, Cooke swiped the ball from Baker, who led Ole Miss with 17 points.
Cooke added a free throw for the final score, finishing her day with 23 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
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Cooke’s big night began with a layup just four seconds into the game, off the opening tip play South Carolina has used several times this season. Cooke went on to score the first eight points for the Gamecocks.
As Ole Miss’ defense kept South Carolina off-balance, Cooke was the Gamecocks’ entire offense for much of the first half. She either scored for herself or set up putbacks with her misses, and had 14 of South Carolina’s 29 first-half points.
With the game tied at 55, both teams got a chance at a game-winner. First, Ole Miss tried to play for the last shot. Marquesha Davis drove against Aliyah Boston, but Boston forced Davis to turn the ball over with 1.5 seconds left.
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South Carolina called a timeout and advance the ball. Dawn Staley put in her biggest posts, Kamilla Cardoso, Aliyah Boston, and Ashlyn Watkins, and Raven Johnson threw an alley-oop, hoping one of them could get it. The pass was deflected to Boston, whose short jumper was too strong.
South Carolina came into the game with the nation’s top-scoring defense, and Ole Miss wasn’t far behind at 18th. Offensively, they are a contrast in styles. South Carolina wants to push the tempo and play in transition, while Ole Miss wants to take the air out of the ball.
Ole Miss won that battle. The Rebels were patient on offense, and their zone defense meant when South Carolina could score quickly, the Gamecocks had to work deep into the shot clock.
South Carolina shot 38% for the game, while Ole Miss shot 37%. Most impressively for Ole Miss, the Rebels kept South Carolina off the offensive glass. South Carolina had just seven second-chance points on 15 offensive rebounds.
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Missed free throws plagued both teams in the fourth quarter and overtime. After Baker hit a stepback jumper to give Ole Miss a 55-54 lead, Boston missed three straight free throws before finally tying the game. South Carolina finished the game just 15-22 from the line.
In overtime, after Cooke scored first. Taylor drew a foul but missed both free throws. Instead of a tie game, Ole Miss spent the rest of overtime playing from behind. Ole Miss was just 9-17 from the line.
Boston finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists. However, she hit just 5-10 free throws and was an uncharacteristic 4-14 shooting.
Nobody else for the Gamecocks hit double figures, although Cardoso had eight points and 11 rebounds.
Notes:
South Carolina outrebounded Ole Miss 49-36. … Brea Beal played 40 minutes and had eight points and a game-high five assists before fouling out for the first time in her career-. … Raven Johnson played 30 minutes and had seven points, four rebounds, and two assists. … Snudda Collins had 11 points for Ole Miss. … Igbokwe blocked six shots. The Gamecocks blocked five. … South Carolina was minus-five in turnover margin but plus-one in points off turnovers. … Aliyah Boston braids report: Boston’s red braids with pink highlights made their second appearance. … Dawn Staley fit report: Staley wore a Gucci floral lace bomber jacket. … Announced attendance was 6,563, an Ole Miss record for an SEC game. … South Carolina’s next game is Thursday at Tennessee.
