Feb. 27, 2003
Columbia, S.C. – The 16th ranked University of South Carolina women’s basketball team dominated the Wildcats of Kentucky 97-51 on Thursday night in the Carolina Center. The Gamecocks improved to 20-6 overall and 8-5 in the SEC with the largest SEC win in USC’s history. The Wildcats dropped to 11-14 and 4-9 in the SEC. The night belonged to the seniors but the rest of the team was involved in all of the action as well.
Jocelyn Penn paced the Gamecocks with 35 points, eight rebounds and eight steals. Penn’s final steal came at the 7:38 mark in the second half and tied her for first in the SEC with 350 steals. Penn left the game at 6:25 because of an ankle sprain. Petra Ujhelyi, another senior who was being honored poured in 17 points and eight rebounds. Cristina Ciocan scored 21, grabbed six rebounds and dished out six assists. Olga Gritsaeva scored a career high eight points while Kelly Morrone chipped in seven. Sarah Burgess scored six and Tonisha Reese tallied three. Koretha Johnson didn’t score any points but she helped out with eight rebounds and five assists.
USC started out hot and they never looked back. The Gamecocks opened the game with a 21-4 run over the first 9:25. The Wildcats would eventually start hitting shots but it was too late as USC went into halftime with a 42-20 lead.
The second half saw the Gamecocks on fire as they connected on 61.3% of their shots. The high percentage led to 55-second half points. The point total was the second highest point total in the second half and the third most point total in a half this season. USC cruised easily to the 97-51 victory.
The Gamecocks are now tied for fifth place with Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks go on the road to play Mississippi on Sunday at 3 pm.
