Jan. 20, 2008
OXFORD, Miss. – South Carolina staged a furious rally midway through the second half, but could not overcome a 12-point halftime deficit in a 74-61 loss at Mississippi Sunday afternoon at Tad Smith Coliseum. The Gamecocks (11-7, 0-3 SEC) cut their deficit to three points with 1:35 left and looked to have the momentum to complete the rally. The Lady Rebels (8-8, 2-1 SEC) took advantage of the spread defense to hit a crucial 3-pointer and hit free throws down the stretch to stave off the Gamecocks.
The Gamecocks were the early aggressors with freshman Jordan Jones draining a long three from the right elbow right off the bat. The Lady Rebels pushed ahead 4-3 on a stick-back by Danetra Forrest, and Demetress Adams knotted things at 4-4 with a free throw at the 18:38 mark. After Shawn Goff put Ole Miss up 6-4 with an offensive rebound and put back with 17:46 on the clock, the Gamecock defense did not yield another bucket until the 13:00 mark. Meanwhile, the offense cranked up with nine straight point. Adams drained a pair of free throws, and Brionna Dickerson put back a missed shot for an 8-6 lead. Jones drained another triple from way behind the line at the top of the arc, and Adams capped the spurt with a short jumper from the right block.
Bianca Thomas ended the drought for Ole Miss, hitting her first of 3-pointers during an 11-0 run, which gave the Lady Rebels a 17-13 lead at the midway point of the period. Jewel May hit a free throw and Ebony Jones sank a 3-pointer from the right sideline to knot the game at 17-17- with 8:32 on the clock. After another jumper from Forrest, Ilona Burgrova’s runner in the lane again tied the score at 19-19, a litany of Gamecock turnovers delivered a three-minute scoring drought, during which the Lady Rebels tacked on eight straight points to take a 27-19 lead. South Carolina turned up the defensive pressure, but could not overcome the deficit and went in the half trailing 27-39.
The Ole Miss lead hovered around 12 points until the Gamecocks made another spurt with eight minutes remaining. Trailing 47-61, defense held the Lady Rebels scoreless over the ensuing three minutes. Jones cranked things up with a long jumper, and Burgrova hit a running across the lane. Adams made it an eight-point game with a basket underneath with 5:37 left. Forrest ended the surge with a mid-range jumper, which May answered for a 55-63 game with a tick under five minutes left.
Shantell Black hit one of two free throws to push the lead back to nine, but the Gamecocks were not done. Jones and Dickerson hit back-to-back jump shots, and Dickerson added two free throws to cut the margin back to 64-61 with 1:35 on the clock. With the Gamecocks pressuring every pass, the Lady Rebels got Elizabeth Robertson free for a 3-pointer on the right wing, which she drained to put Ole Miss up 67-61 with just under 90 seconds left. The Lady Rebels sealed the win by hitting free throws down the stretch.
Jones led the South Carolina offense with 18 points, including four 3-pointers, while Adams added 13 on 4-of-5 shooting. Adams and Burgrova tied for team-high honors with seven rebounds, while Samone Kennedy handed out six assists. Five Lady Rebels hit double figures with Robertson, Goff and Kayla Melson leading the way with 14 apiece. Goff completed her double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Gamecocks will play a pair of home games next week, beginning on Thu., Jan. 24, when Kentucky visits the Colonial Center for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
