Dec. 30, 2007
NORMAN, Okla. — Despite three players in double figures, South Carolina women’s basketball suffered a 95-63 defeat at No. 9 Oklahoma this afternoon at the Lloyd Noble Center. Freshman Jordan Jones netted a team-high 18 points, and senior Ilona Burgrova added 15, all but two of which came in the second half, to lead the Gamecocks (9-4). The Sooners (9-2) out-rebounded the Gamecocks 58-26, including 25 offensive boards to just six for South Carolina.
The first half was played in a series of spurts as the Sooners took advantage of their second looks, turning 17 offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points in the half. After Jones hit a bucket in transition to pull the Gamecocks within three at 6-9, Oklahoma put together a 12-6 run to open a 21-12 margin. The spurt came largely on the back of Nyeshia Stevenson who hit three mid-range jumpers. The lead reached double digits on Amanda Thompson’s second-consecutive basket, which gave Oklahoma a 25-14 advantage with 9:53 on the clock.
A second OU surge of 16-6 pushed the lead to 21 at the 4:05 mark before the Gamecocks put together a brief rally of their own. South Carolina closed the half on a 9-4 run started by a pair of free throws from Jewel May. Jones hit a long 3-pointer from the right wing, then sank two of three free throws on her ensuing 3-point attempt to pull the Gamecocks back to 27-43. Lakesha Tolliver put back her own miss for a 29-43 margin with 1:05 on the clock. OU’s Courtney Paris hit a tough bucket underneath for a 45-29 halftime score.
The Gamecocks started off the second half well with a steal on the Sooners’ opening possession, which Tolliver turned into three points as she drove the right block to hit a tough layup and the ensuing free throw. Unfortunately for South Carolina, the Sooners went on to score the next 12 points, capped by a Stevenson 3-pointer, before C.J. Pace ended the run with a backdoor layup for a 57-34 score with 17:04 remaining.
The lead ballooned to 31 points on an Amanda Thompson jumper with 13:37 left, but the Gamecocks refused to go away and put together 16-0 run over the next three minutes, narrowing the deficit to 68-53. Burgrova opened the spurt with seven straight points as she battled underneath. Jones added a 3-pointer in transition, and Tolliver hit a layup off a steal by Samone Kennedy. Bugrova hit another hook, and Jones added a pair of free throws before the Sooners ended the spurt with a pair of free throw from Danielle Robinson at the 9:58 mark.
A jumper at the top of the key from Demetress Adams brought the Gamecocks back within 15 before the Sooners took advantage of quick shots and back-to-back turnovers to rebuild their lead to 24 points with 7:44 remaining. Tolliver sank a pair of free throws for a 79-57 deficit, but the Gamecocks could not regain the momentum and would get no closer.
Reigning national player of the year Courtney Paris scored just 10 points but pulled down 24 rebounds for the Sooners. Robinson led all scorers with 20 points as Oklahoma shot 50 percent from the field. Tolliver led the Gamecocks on the boards with seven rebounds to go with 13 points.
South Carolina returns home for a pair of games at the Colonial Center before conference play begins on Jan. 10. The Gamecocks host UNC Asheville on Thu., Jan. 3, at 7 p.m. before closing their non-conference slate with a 3 p.m. contest with Savannah State on Sun., Jan. 6.
