Nov. 15, 2007
COLUMBIA – Junior Brionna Dickerson poured in points in the first half, and senior Lakesha Tolliver hit the game winning jumper with one second remaining in South Carolina’s 66-64 win over Virginia tonight at the Colonial Center. Dickerson netted a career-high 27 points, including 17 in the first 13 minutes. Tolliver struggled from the field early but hit the shot at crunch time as the Gamecocks (2-0) rallied from 14 points down with 6:35 in the game.
The game was back and forth throughout the first half as the lead changed five times through four ties and neither team opened more than a five-point lead. Dickerson did the damage for the Gamecocks, hitting all six of her shots in the first 13 minutes of the game, including five 3-pointers. With 17 of South Carolina’s 31 points coming from Dickerson, the rest of the team hit just 27.8 percent from the field. Trailing by three with 3:30 left in the period, the Cavaliers mounted a rally with a pair of jumpers from Paulisha Kellum. When South Carolina’s C.J. Pace missed a three on the other end, Kellum barreled up the floor and heaved in a buzzer-beating three to put the Cavs up by four at the break.
The momentum stayed with Virginia early in the second half. As they shut down Dickerson, the Cavaliers built a 16-point lead on a Monica Wright break away with 6:46 remaining. The Gamecocks’ upperclassmen were not ready to give up on victory, however. A pair of lay-ups from Tolliver sandwiched a bucket from Demetress Adams, narrowing the lead to 10 at the 5:23 mark. Dickerson returned to the scoring column with back-to-back jumpers, slicing the lead to eight with 3:21 remaining.
The Gamecocks ramped up the defense and rebounding down the stretch. With the deficit under 10 for the first time since midway through the first half, Adams came up with a steal and found Samone Kennedy streaking down the court for a lay-in to pull within six at 55-61 with 2:47 on the clock. Wright missed a lay-up on the other end, and senior Ilona Burgrova ripped down the rebound. With the adrenaline flowing, the Gamecocks missed a pair of jumpers but battled for offensive rebounds to keep the momentum on their side.
With just over two minutes left, Dickerson put the team on her back again, dribbling around a series of defenders on the right sideline, tip-toeing the baseline and sinking a lay-up on the opposite side of the rim for a 57-61 margin. The Cavaliers were one and done on the other end as Dickerson snatched a defensive rebound, snaked through traffic again and found Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week Jordan Jones spotted up behind the arc at the left elbow. The sniper buried the shot to pull the Gamecocks within one.
Virginia took timeout to stop the run, but the Gamecocks would not be denied. Aisha Mohammed missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and an inside shot after the offensive rebound. Dickerson’s mid-range jumper at the free-throw line gave South Carolina its first lead since the waning moments of the first half. Off a Lyndra Littles offensive rebound, Zoll drained a three, but Dickerson answered with a pair of free throws to knot the game with 37 ticks on the clock.
Littles looked to add to her 16 points for the Cavaliers, but Tolliver blocked her short-range jumper, and Kennedy won the battle for the rebound. After a time out by each team, Carolina ran the final play for its senior, who capped her eight-point night with a clutch jumper in the lane.
Dickerson’s 27 points led all scorers, and Burgrova’s 10 boards were a game high as well. Adams finished with 11 oints and seven rebounds, eight points and five boards of that coming in the second half. After getting beaten on the boards in the first half, the Gamecocks finished the night with a 42-36 rebounding edge.
South Carolina continues its season-opening four-game home stand on Sat., Nov. 17, at 3 p.m. against Buffalo.
