Dec. 30, 2004
Columbia, S.C. – Seton Hall’s defense stepped up down the stretch, enabling the Pirates to claim a 53-42 win over South Carolina in the championship game of the Carolina Classic played at the Colonial Center Thursday.
With the win, Seton Hall improved to 8-3 overall on the year, with South Carolina dipping to 5-7 overall.
Seton Hall established itself early on, going on a 13-0 run to expand its lead from 15-10 with 11:45 remaining in the first half to 28-10 with 5:40 remaining in the half. The Gamecocks carved into the lead slightly as the half wound down, trimming the deficit to 30-17 at the half. Carolina’s surge continued into the second half, with the Gamecocks starting the half with a 12-4 run that cut the Pirate advantage to 34-29 with 11:35 remaining. Seton Hall created more breathing room for itself before South Carolina went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 42-38 with 6:03 remaining.
The teams essentially traded baskets until Seton Hall held the Gamecocks to only one field goal in the final five minutes to ice the win.
Poor shooting from three-point range haunted South Carolina Thursday, as the Gamecocks converted on only 2-of-16 attempts from beyond the arc in the first half and 4-of-24 in the game.
Seton Hall’s first-half run was sparked by forward Ashley Bush, who went into the locker room with 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals. Another contributing factor in Seton Hall’s first-half dominance was Melanie Johnson getting into early foul trouble. Johnson, who has starred for South Carolina during its previous three games, picked up her second foul with 14:40 remaining in the half and Seton Hall leading, 10-6.
The Gamecocks and Pirates met in South Orange, N.J., last year, with Seton Hall claiming a 57-46 win. Last year’s contest was the only prior meeting between the two schools.
South Carolina entered Thursday’s game leading the SEC and ranking among the top five nationally in blocked shots with 7.0 blocks per game. The Gamecocks blocked four of the Pirates’ shots.
The Gamecocks return to action at 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 2 when they battle Virginia in Charlottesville. The game will be broadcast live on WISW 1320-AM Columbia with Andy Demetra handling play-by-play and Robin Muller providing analysis.
2004 Carolina Classic All-Tournament Team
Kristin Vuckovich – Campbell
Heta Korpivaara – Seton Hall
Melanie Johnson – South Carolina Ilona Burgrova – South Carolina
Asia Carroll – Seton Hall
MVP – Ashley Bush – Seton Hall
USC Tournament Quotes – Championship Game – USC vs. Seton Hall
USC Head Coach Susan Walvius
“Cold shooting. We had wide-open holes and could not get them down. When you have those types of nights you have to rebound and we did not rebound. However, when you hold a team to 20% in the second half, you have to think that your defense is doing a good job.”
“They did a nice job taking shots away from us. Melanie had only one shot. Our kids can shoot, but tonight we were just cold.”
“We are still looking for that leadership to finish the game for us. We are working on gaining confidence in stepping up and shooting the ball. We have had different people step up on different nights.”
“Seton Hall executed their game plan very well. They did a good job rebounding and defensively they did a nice job down the stretch. “
USC guard Angela Hunter
“They scouted us and took advantage of our size. We will have to just move forward from this and get in the gym and continue to work on shooting.”
USC guard Lauren Simms
“My outside shots weren’t falling. I tried to penetrate more and tried to be patient and get more inside shots, but they weren’t falling. We fought hard and never gave up. We can grow from that and not get down. We just need to keep moving forward.”
Seton Hall Head Coach Phyllis Mangina
“We shot incredible from the free throw line. We gave up nine offensive rebounds in the first half but only two in the second half and that was really significant. We panicked at times but we were able to gather our composure and were able to make some good stops on the other end to stay ahead in the game.”
“We had to keep them off of the boards and we wanted to make them soot jump shots. I feel our zone defense worked well. We were able to finish our defensive plan and that helped.”
On bench: “We have some good players that come off the bench. They can come in and contribute. To tell you the truth, I don’t always know all of the time who will step up but you can guarantee that whoever does, will stay in the game. The contribution off the bench was big for us.”
Seton Hall guard Ashley Bush
“We came on strong in the beginning and that was our main focus. Being up is the hardest part because you know your opponent won’t back down. Our defense kept us in the game tonight.”
Quotes – Consolation Game – Campbell vs. Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina Head Coach Alan LeForce
“Last night just took everything we had and because of that, I thought that affected our play today. We had no juice, no loose legs and we just wore ourselves out.”
“Campbell played a better game. They were in better shape than us. We never got on a roll or found our rhythm.”
“We still have a long season to go but I believe we still have a chance to be a good team. I hope this was just a one time situation where we play with no energy.”
Campbell Head Coach Wanda Watkins
“The Championship game was what we really wanted to play in, but since that was not the case, we came back today with a new mission. We wanted to win today. Coastal is a good team. I think we might have had a slight advantage by playing earlier yesterday and getting back to the hotel to rest a little earlier. I think that allowed us to have a more up tempo game. I thought we played much better offensively today than last night too.”
“This was a great tournament with a great field. This win was a good win for us. We head into conference play on Monday and I hope that we will be able to carry the momentum with us.”
“This was our second time facing Coastal this season. They beat us at their place earlier in the year.
