Dec 29, 2002
By JACOB JORDAN
Associated Press Writer
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Jocelyn Penn had 28 points and eight rebounds and No. 18 South Carolina beat Alcorn State 96-52 on Sunday.
Penn had five points in an early 11-0 run as the Gamecocks (10-1) took a 17-6 lead with 15:17 left in the first half. During the run, South Carolina converted two of its 10 first-half steals into easy layups and Alcorn State (6-4) would never catch up.
Penn, one of the nation’s leading scorers at 26.1 points a game, continued her record-setting season Sunday. She grabbed an offensive rebound on Petra Ujhelyi’s missed free throw and her putback gave her 1,501 career points. With the basket, the senior became one of only four players in the school’s history to score more than 1,500 points, grab 500 rebounds and have more than 200 steals.
Cristina Ciocan added 14 points, Ujhelyi had 13 and Tonisha Reese had a career-high 13 for the Gamecocks.
Danielle Tipton scored 16 points and Keairra Levy added 12 for the Braves.
South Carolina shot 64.5 percent (20-for-31) from the field in the first half and had eight fewer turnovers. The Gamecocks led 32-14 on Olga Gritsaeva’s basket with 6:34 remaining and tied their largest lead of the half – 18 points – on Reese’s short jumper as time expired.
South Carolina began the second half like it ended the first. Penn had nine points in a 15-6 run, and Ciocan’s 3 with 13:42 left put the Gamecocks up 68-30. They would lead by as many as 44 points.
Alcorn State hung around in the first half shooting 60 percent (6-of-10) from 3-point range. Tipton hit all four of her 3-point attempts and Keairra Levy added two.
