February 14, 2002
South Carolina senior guard Shaun Gortman scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the 9th-ranked Lady Gamecocks to a 69-54 win over visiting Alabama Thursday night in Columbia.
South Carolina improves to 21-3 overall and 9-2 in the SEC, extending its school record for league wins in a season. The Crimson Tide tumbles to 15-9, 5-6 in the SEC.
The Lady Gamecocks won the game with solid play down the stretch, holding Alabama to just two field goals in the closing 8:45 of the game, outscoring the Tide 24-12 during that span.
Alabama had trimmed what once was a 15- point USC lead down to just three with a quick 7-0 run in under three minutes before Gortman and Jocelyn Penn wrestled away control of the game.
Gortman scored four straight points, hitting a mid-range jumper and later converting on two free-throw attempts to push the USC lead back up to seven. Then Penn, a junior from Conyers, Ga., took over.
The SEC’s fourth leading scorer poured in 14 of her 16 points in the second stanza, including 10 points in the closing 6:10 of the second half.
“We can be a tremendous offensive machine when we are patient,” said USC head coach Susan Walvius. “I like our team … they are confident.”
South Carolina dominated the game on the interior, outscoring an outmatched Crimson Tide squad 42-22 in the paint.
Alabama, who entered the contest as the SEC’s top shooting club from behind the three-point arc, saw their woes extend into what had been fruitful territory. On the night, Alabama was just 3-of-11 from deep, some 13% less efficient than their season average. The frantic USC defense also forced 20 Alabama turnovers, keeping the Tide offense out of synch for most of the game that South Carolina led from start to finish.
LaNisha Cartwell paced the Crimson Tide with 11 points and four rebounds while Monique Bivins added 10 points off the bench. No other Alabama player scored more than eight points.
The Lady Gamecocks, meanwhile, had four players score in double figures, marking the seventh time this season that many South Carolina players have reached the 10-point plateau.
USC opened the game on a 10-0 run in the first 7:20 with Gortman hitting three quick shots. But Alabama climbed back into the game quickly with a 10-2 run of their own, sparked by six points from reserve Sparkle Smith.
South Carolina next faces LSU Sunday afternoon in Baton Rouge at 3:00 p.m. ET.
