November 18, 2001
Ines Ajanovic scored a career-high 17 points and grabbed six rebounds in just 22 minutes of action as South Carolina set a school rebounding record during it’s 72-61 win over visiting Louisiana Lafayette Sunday afternoon at the Carolina Coliseum.
Trailing 17-13 midway through the first half, the Lady Gamecocks (2-0) reeled-off a 21-2 run over a 9:16 stretch to claim a lead it would not relinquish, putting the overmatched Ragin’ Cajuns (0-2) away for good.
Petra Ujhelyi scored two of her five points on a 10-foot baseline jumper to start the run, which was keyed by the play of Jocelyn Penn. The junior from Norcross, Ga., scored seven of her team-high 18 points during the run, including an old-fashioned three-point play and a rebound and follow lay-up. Teresa Geter also chipped in four of her seven points off the bench during the game-changing streak.
The Lady Gamecocks dominated the boards, collecting a school-record 35 offensive rebounds, eclipsing the previous mark of 32. On the day, USC out rebounded Louisiana Lafayette 60-41. Tatyana Troina paced the Lady Gamecocks with 10 rebounds.
That effective interior play, featuring a 22-6 advantage on points scored in the paint and 22 second-chance points, offset a poor shooting effort from the perimeter as Carolina shot just 36.1% (30-of-83) from the field. Additionally, the Lady Gamecocks were 0-of-19 from behind the three-point arc. The drought from three-point range ended USC’s streak of 40 consecutive games with at least one three point basket.
The Carolina defense, stringent all day, held the Ragin’ Cajuns below 40% shooting from the field (27-of-68, 39.7%).
“We were very cold shooting the ball from the outside,” said USC Head Coach Susan Walvius. “But we hustled, got second shot opportunities and you’ve got to be pleased with that.”
“Ines is working hard on her fundamentals every day, and at this level of competition that’s what determines games. She is doing a fantastic job and I couldn’t be more proud of her.”
Sarah Richey tallied a game-high 21 points and 14 rebounds for Louisiana Lafayette.
Carolina is back in action November 24 when they travel to Durham, N.C., for the Duke Women’s Basketball Classic. Carolina faces Missouri in the first round game.
