Jan. 23, 2005
Fayetteville, Ark. – South Carolina lost a 61-49 decision to Arkansas Sunday at Bud Walton Arena.
The Gamecocks fell to 6-13 overall and 0-5 in conference, while the LadyBacks improved to 12-6 overall and 2-5 in the league.
Playing shorthanded without its two top post players in Ruby Vaden and Kristin Moore, Arkansas was able to compensate by using its quickness advantage to stay a step ahead of the Gamecocks on both ends of the court. The LadyBacks harassed Carolina defensively and didn’t allow the Gamecocks to get into any kind of flow on the offensive end.
Freshman center Ilona Burgrova led Carolina in scoring with 14 points. Kristen Peoples led Arkansas with 12 points, including three three-pointers.
South Carolina has never beaten Arkansas in Fayetteville, with the LadyBacks owning an 8-0 series advantage when playing at home.
Arkansas set the tone immediately in the first half, gambling on steals and flustering the Gamecocks, who turned the ball over five times in the first four minutes of the game and 22 times overall. Thanks largely to its defensive intensity, Arkansas took a 35-22 lead into the locker room at halftime.
South Carolina got limited production from its backcourt, as the starting trio of Lauren Simms, Lea Fabbri and Stacy Booker combined for only three points in the first 20 minutes.
Booker hauled in a career-high 13 rebounds and matched a career-best with four assists.
The Gamecocks have now lost 11 consecutive games against SEC opposition. Including Sunday, Carolina has dropped its last 10 SEC road games.
The Gamecocks return to action at 7 p.m. Thursday when they host national power Tennessee at the Colonial Center. The game will be broadcast live on 1320 WISW-AM radio and worldwide via the internet at www.uscsports.com.
