Feb 23, 2003
By PETE IACOBELLI
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Petra Ujhelyi’s three-point play with 1.5 seconds left gave No. 17 South Carolina a 65-64 victory over Auburn on Sunday.
The Gamecocks (19-6, 7-5 Southeastern Conference) were up by as many as 15 points, but trailed 64-62 after an inside basket by Auburn’s Tia Miller with 20.7 seconds remaining. After waiting through four timeouts, South Carolina star Jocelyn Penn took a crosscourt pass from Cristina Ciocan on the left side and took a shot from in close.
However, it bounced off the other side of the rim where Ujhelyi, the SEC’s leading rebounder, grabbed the ball and put it back in as she was fouled by Miller.
Auburn had one last chance but Mandisa Stevenson, who had a career-high 20 points to lead the Tigers (17-8, 5-7), threw the inbounds pass out of bounds.
It was the third win in four games for the Gamecocks.
Ujhelyi finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal.
Penn, the SEC’s second-leading scorer, had 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Stevenson made her first eight shots on the way to her best college performance, surpassing her 13 points against Prairie View on Nov. 25.
Natasha Brackett, Auburn’s leading scorer at 16 points a game coming in, was held to 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting. Her only 3-pointer with 2:52 left gave the Tigers a 62-60 lead.
A driving bank shot by Ciocan tied things for South Carolina with 34 seconds left before Miller’s inside basket gave Auburn its final lead.
Le’Coe Willingham had 17 points for Auburn on 7-of-8 shooting.
