Nov. 17, 2006

Final Stats | Quotes | Notes

Columbia, S.C. – Five South Carolina players scored in double figures as the Gamecocks cruised to a record 117-63 victory over North Carolina A&T Friday night at the Colonial Center. The 117 points scored was a Colonial Center record and the fourth highest points scored in USC women’s basketball history. With the win, the Gamecocks improve to 2-1. The Bulldogs fall to 1-2 on the season.

Freshman Kellindra Zackery anchored a Carolina offense that posted the fifth highest-scoring first half in Carolina history with 12 points and seven rebounds in 10 minutes of action in the first half. She finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds, the first double-double for a freshman since Demetress Adams hit 12 points and 10 rebounds against Bethune-Cookman in December 2005.

The Gamecocks enjoyed a strong effort from the bench, getting 81 points from players who did not start the game. Demetress Adams contributed 18 points along with three blocks and two steals. Stacy Booker and Iva Sliskovic each posted 11 points with Brionna Dickerson rounding out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.

However it was the Gamecock defense that allowed it to break the game open as they scored 19 points off of 17 forced first half Bulldog turnovers. The Gamecocks only committed one turnover in the opening 20 minutes of the game.

North Carolina A&T never lead in the game but kept the game close in the opening eight minutes before Carolina limited them to three points over a six minute span. During the run, the Gamecocks outscored the Bulldogs 23-3 en route to heading into the half with a 57-30 lead.

Carolina stayed just as hot in the second half, opening on a 21-5 run during which Lea Fabbri dished out five assists to put her in double-digits in assists for the first time this season. She finished with a career-high 11 assists, the most since Cristina Ciocan dished out a school-record 18 assists in 2003 against Florida A&M. Carolina continued its hot shooting throughout the half, going 24-for-41 for a 58.5% clip.

The 60 points scored in the second half was the second-highest total for a final period in team history.

The Gamecocks return to action when they host in-state rival Clemson at 7 p.m. Monday at the Colonial Center. The game will be broadcast live on WISW 1320 AM Radio with Brad Heller handling play-by-play and Robin Muller providing analysis.