Jan. 24, 2008
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COLUMBIA – Kentucky used a 14-3 run in the second half and took advantage of South Carolina’s mental mistakes down the stretch to pick up a 66-62 victory over the Gamecocks Thursday night at the Colonial Center. South Carolina (11-8, 0-4 SEC) dropped its fourth-straight league game despite just four turnovers in the second half and a 40-37 rebounding edge in the game. The Gamecocks rallied from an 11-point deficit with 10:54 left and closed within one with just under two minutes remaining but saw Kentucky (10-9, 4-1 SEC) battle down the stretch.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair that saw Kentucky take a 26-23 lead into the break. Each team shot 8-of-24 from the field with the Wildcats hitting one more 3-pointer and two more free throws than the Gamecocks. Carolina out-rebounded Kentucky 21-13 in the period but saw 16 turnovers allow the Wildcats to take the advantage into halftime.
Early free throws helped the Gamecocks in the second half as Demetress Adams hit a pair to open the stanza and Ilona Burgrova sank a pair to stop a spurt by the Wildcats. After Eleia Roddy hit a turnaround on the left block to put the Wildcats up 32-27, Burgrova answered with a traditional three point play to cut the lead to two. The teams traded inside baskets before Brionna Dickerson fed Burgrova from the high post for a layup to knot the game at 34-34 with 14:46 remaining.
Back in a dogfight, the Wildcats rolled off a 14-3 run in just over three minutes to build a 48-37 lead. Lydia Watkins hit a 3-pointer from the right wing, and Amani Franklin converted a traditional three-point play to key the run. Jordan Jones answered with a three from the right elbow, but Kentucky rattled off the next eight points by taking care of its defensive boards.
Trailing 39-50 with 11:09 on the clock, South Carolina looked for a spurt of its own and got things going by feeding the post. Adams and freshman Jewel May combined for the Gamecocks’ next eight points while the defense yielded just three points on the other end. May’s free throws with 8:41 on the clock narrowed the gap to 53-49 at the 8:41 mark. During the surge, Burgrova picked up her fourth foul, however, and a key rebounder for Carolina was sent to the bench.
After Amber Smith pushed the Kentucky lead back to nine with a pair of free throws, South Carolina surged back with the next eight points which began with a Jones 3-pointer and ended in a 59-60 deficit on Dickerson’s putback with 1:45 on the clock. Kentucky tried to help the Gamecocks with shaky free-throw shooting down the stretch as Smith and Chelsea Chowning hit just 1-of-4 from the stripe, but the Wildcats picked up rebounds on both final misses to push their lead back to 65-59 with 24 seconds left. Dickerson hit a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to give the Gamecocks final hope, but Kentucy was able to hold on for the win.
Jones led the Gamecocks with 16 points, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range, while Burgrova added 15. Adams narrowly missed her seventh double-double of the season with 11 points and nine rebounds. Freshman Ashlie Billingslea came off the bench in just her second game of the season and handed out a team-high four assists in 17 minutes.
South Carolina hosts its second-straight home game on Sun., Jan. 27, at 3 p.m. when Florida visits the Colonial Center.
