Nov. 23, 2007
MIAMI – South Carolina women’s basketball suffered a 91-58 loss to Illinois in the second game of the Florida International Thanksgiving Tournament at Pharmed Arena tonight. The Gamecocks (3-2) fell behind early against a pressure Illini defense that forced 24 turnovers, which led to 34 Illinois points. Junior Demetress Adams led the Gamecocks with 14 points, while freshman Jordan Jones contributed 13, all but two of which came in the second half.
The first half offered a series of difficulties for the Gamecocks from starting the offense late in the shot clock due to pressure defense to getting out-rebounded 20-12 to Courtney Newton suffering a left knee injury midway through the period. The lone bright spot came with the energy of Jasmine Payne off the bench. After the Gamecocks went scoreless for a five minute stretch from the 12 minute mark, Payne came in with just under seven minutes left and mounted a nearly one-woman rally. Her athleticism on the defensive end keyed a pair of steals and her back-to-back buckets provided the closest consecutive scores for the Gamecocks all night.
Trailing by 21 at the break, South Carolina put together a brief spurt early in the second half. Jones opened with a 3-pointer, and Ilona Burgrova added a quick bucket underneath, but the outside shooting of the Illini prevented any type of comeback as Chelsea Gordon drilled back-to-back threes. With the Illini hitting 66.7 percent from 3-point range in the second half, their lead ballooned to as many as 37 points.
Adams and Payne tied for team-high honors with five rebounds apiece as the Illini out-boarded the Gamecocks 40-27. Payne’s eight points were a season high, and she added three steals to her line. Freshman Samone Kennedy handed out a season-best five assists.
The Illini had five players in double figures with Jenna Smith leading the way at 17 points. She finished the night with a double-double, adding 10 rebounds to her effort.
South Carolina will play in the tournament’s consolation game on Sun., Nov. 25, at noon against the host FIU Panthers.
