Gamecocks Cruise to Wire-to-Wire Win over Tennessee
KNOXSVILLE, Tenn. – No. 13/13 South Carolina women’s basketball led from start to finish to take down Tennessee 82-67 on the road Sunday afternoon. The Gamecocks (20-7, 12-2 SEC) got career games from Bianca Cuevas-Moore and Doniyah Cliney to earn their first road win over Tennessee since 2016.
Cuevas-Moore scored a career-high 28 points in the victory, connecting on nine of her 18 attempts, including four 3-poiners in a career-high 39 minutes. Cliney’s 16 points matched her career high, which she originally set in 2017, and she collected six boards in 38 minutes. Alexis Jennings paced the Carolina offense in the second half, scoring 13 of her 15 points in the final 20 minutes, while grabbing seven rebounds. Tyasha Harris rounded out the Gamecocks in double figures with 11, adding a career-high 14 assists for her second double-double in the last three games., tying the second most assists in a single game in Carolina history.
Right from the tip, Cuevas-Moore was firing from all angles. The redshirt-senior scored 12 points in the quarter, including an easy layup as the Gamecocks continued to break the Lady Volunteer press throughout the first period. Carolina used a short 6-0 run in under a minute to grab a 20-11 lead with 2:42 left in the quarter. The Gamecocks then capped the quarter with a 13-0 run, seven of which came from Cuevas-Moore, to own a 27-11 lead.
The Carolina surge continued in the second quarter as it extended to a 19-2 run with buckets from Mikiah Herbert Harrigan and Cuevas-Moore, building the lead to 20 points. Tennessee made a brief run throughout the middle of the period, cutting the lead down to 14. Herbert Harrigan’s defense stood out in the quarter as the junior swatted three of her four first-half blocks, including two in one possession, to keep Carolina cruising in the first half. Orchestrated by Harris, who finished with eight assists in the first half, the Gamecocks led 43-27 heading into the locker room.
In the third quarter, Jennings took over offensively for Carolina. She scored seven points during the quarter, including each of the first two buckets. Tennessee made a run, cutting the lead to eight with 1:46 to go in the period, but Carolina continued to pound the ball inside, getting eight of its first 12 points from the charity stripe, including eight straight to hold a 60-51 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
Jennings continued to dominate in the fourth quarter. The senior forward sank the opening bucket and scored six more in the final frame. Cliney continued her career day by hitting two shots in a row for the Garnet and Black, including a big three with 6:34 to put the Gamecocks back up by 10. With Tennessee hovering around the 10-point deficit, a Cuevas-Moore three put the game on ice with 4:36 to go, and Carolina cruised to the 82-67 victory on the road.
GAMECHANGER
Carolina’s 13-0 run, that eventually turned into a 19-2 run, that broke open the big lead to end the first quarter included four of Harris’ 14 assists assists.
KEY STAT
The Gamecocks took advantage of Tennessee’s 16 turnovers in the victory, scoring 17 points off turnovers and scoring 16 fast break points.
NOTABLES
- Tyasha Harris’ 14 assists tied for most by a Gamecock in an SEC game all-time and the second-most assists in single game in program history.
- Harris’ double-double is her second of the season, and second in three games. Carolina is 7-1 when Harris notches a double-double.
- Carolina took care of the ball against Tennessee, turning the ball over just six times, tying the lowest mark of the season set against #9/8 Oregon State (Nov. 23).
- The five Gamecock starters (Cuevas-Moore, Cliney, Jennings, Harris and Bianca Jackson) set a new season-high for points by starters with 74.
- By scoring 82 points, Carolina moved its record to 9-0, and 4-0 in the SEC, when they score at least 80 points this season.
UP NEXT
The Gamecocks (20-7, 12-2 SEC) remain on the road to take on Auburn on SEC Network Plus at 7 p.m. on Feb. 28. Carolina then returns home for the regular season finale with #6/6 Mississippi State on ESPN2 at 2 p.m. on March 3.
