Final Score: South Carolina 72, Mississippi State 66 (OT)
Updated Team Records: South Carolina (16-13; 6-8 SEC) — Mississippi State (17-12; 7-7 SEC)
Next Up For South Carolina: vs. Auburn – 1 p.m. EST Thursday in Duluth, Ga. (SEC Tournament First Round). Winner gets Tennessee at 1 p.m. Friday.
With Sunday’s win over Mississippi State…
:: South Carolina split the series with the Bulldogs, with both teams winning on their respective home courts.
:: South Carolina picked up its fourth win in its last five meetings with Mississippi State played in Columbia.
:: The Gamecocks improved to 14-4 at home this year, matching the 2002-03 season (14-2 record at home) for most victories in a single-season at the Colonial Center. The school record for home victories is 15, set by the Gamecocks of 2001-02 and the Gamecocks of 1979-80.
:: South Carolina enters next week’s SEC Tournament as winners of two of its last three regular-season games.
:: The Bulldogs finished the season by losing three of their last four games.
:: South Carolina picked up its first overtime win since an 87-81 victory over Duke in 2001.
Overtime Thriller
:: Sunday’s game marked South Carolina’s first overtime game of the year and was the first since the Gamecocks lost a 70-65 overtime decision to Xavier in the Women’s NIT last year. Carolina’s last overtime win was an 87-81 triumph over Duke in 2001.
Clutch Plays
:: Lakesha Tolliver was fouled while attempting a three-pointer (only her second three-point attempt of the year) with only 12 seconds remaining and the Gamecocks trailing by three points at the end of regulation. She drained all three to end the scoring in regulation and send the game into overtime. Stacy Booker drained a three-pointer and followed it up with a long two early in overtime to create some breathing room early in the overtime period. Demetress Adams lured Mississippi State’s Alexis Rack to the baseline and forced her to commit a turnover with 1:06 remaining in overtime and the Gamecocks leading by two. Booker made a pair of free throws with 17 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Gamecocks a 70-66 lead and essentially put the game out of reach.
Record Watch
:: Stacy Booker drained two three-pointers Sunday to increase her career total to 113. She took sole possession of eighth place on South Carolina’s career list.
:: Lakesha Tolliver blocked three shots Sunday to increase her season total to 51 blocks, moving her past Michelle Murray (49 blocks in 1991-92) and into sole possession of fourth place on the single-season blocked shots list.
:: Demetress Adams blocked four shots Sunday to increase her career blocks total to 60, moving her past Shannon Johnson (59 blocks from 1992-96) and into sole possession of 10th place on South Carolina’s career blocks list.
:: The Gamecocks grabbed 18 offensive rebounds Sunday to extend their single-season school record to 523.
Six Seniors Honored Sunday
:: South Carolina honored seniors Stacy Booker, Lea Fabbri, Larissa Kulcsar, Iva Sliskovic and Lauren Simms, along with senior team manager Chane Brown as part of Senior Day festivities. Columbia Mayor Bob Coble recognized the senior class with a brief speech prior to the game and each player had a personalized highlight film shown on the arena video board during media timeouts, then received a framed jersey and flowers in a ceremony on the court after the game ended.
Big Crowd On Hand
:: Sunday’s announced crowd of 3,466 marked the largest home crowd of the season, thanks largely to the attendance of participants involved with the Let’s Read With The Gamecocks Program. A total of 2,733 students from 34 Midlands Elementary Schools participated in the program. The announced crowd of 3,466 marked the 10th-largest crowd for a women’s basketball game played at the Colonial Center.
New Starting Five
:: Head Coach Susan Walvius debuted a new starting five for Sunday’s game, going with Demetress Adams and Melanie Johnson at the forward positions, Ilona Burgrova in the middle and Stacy Booker and Brionna Dickerson in the backcourt. Sunday’s game marked the first start of Dickerson’s career. Walvius has utilized 11 different starting lineups this year.
Bulldog Run Closes Out First Half
:: Mississippi State closed out the first half with a 10-4 run over the last three minutes and 31 seconds to take a 28-25 lead into the locker room at halftime. Entering Sunday’s game, South Carolina owned a 1-10 record when trailing at the half. In the same vein, Mississippi State entered Sunday’s game with a 13-2 record when leading at the half.
