Nov. 25, 2006
The South Carolina women’s basketball team fell to Louisiana-Lafayette 83-68 in the championship game of the South Carolina Thanksgiving Classic Saturday night at the Colonial Center. The Gamecocks dropped to 4-2 with the loss while Louisiana-Lafayette improved to 6-2 on the season.
Iva Sliskovic led the Gamecocks with 16 points and was the only Gamecock to make the all-tournament team. Demetress Adams led the team with 10 rebounds before fouling out of the game while Lea Fabbri contributed 13 points and Lauren Simms added 11 points and eight rebounds for the Gamecocks. Five players scored in double-digits for the Ragin’ Cajuns, with Jeanenne Colbert hitting a game-high 20 points. Tournament MVP Yolanda Jones contributed 18 points while Sonora Edwards had the game’s only double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Combined with the poorest shooting half of the season by South Carolina, Louisiana-Lafayette lit up the net from beyond the arc to take the early lead. The Ragin’ Cajuns hit 7-of-14 from beyond the arc, including a 2-for-3 effort from Jones, as they marched to a 42-26 lead at the break.
Carolina went the first 4:37 of the game without a field goal, going 0-for-12 before Lakesha Tolliver broke the drought with a lay-up. The cold streak looked to be over for USC as they then hit four of their next eight shots to tie the game at 11-11. Following the second consecutive basket by Sliskovic to tie the game, the Ragin’ Cajuns went on a 24-6 run – highlighted by a 12-2 rush led by Jones – for a 35-17 lead to put the game out of reach with five minutes still remaining in the first half.
Both teams remained relatively constant in the second half. Louisiana-Lafayette extended the lead to as many as 21 points before Carolina, led by Fabbri’s nine second-half points, trimmed the lead to the final margin. The Gamecocks fell for the first time in the series against Louisiana-Lafayette after winning the first three competitions between the teams.
South Carolina travels to Raleigh, N.C., for a game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack Wednesday at 7 p.m.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Nicole Leonard – Mercer
Sonora Edwards – Louisiana-Lafayette
Amber Williams – Louisiana-Lafayette
Jeanenne Colbert – Louisiana-Lafayette
Iva Sliskovic – South Carolina
Tournament MVP
Yolanda Jones – Louisiana-Lafayette
