Nov. 6, 2008
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s basketball picked up a 78-69 victory over Peach State Elite in exhibition action tonight at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks had five players in double figures and shot 49.2 percent from the field. Led by Demetress Adams’ 10-point, 13-rebound second-half effort, Carolina rallied back from a one-point halftime deficit.
The Gamecocks found themselves trailing by as many as 10 points in the first half as Peach State beat a steady path to the free throw line. Kadie Riverin sank a pair from the charity strip to put her team up 22-12 with 12:18 left in the half. Freshman Miranda Tate got the Gamecocks going with a three-pointer that kicked off a 16-5 run that spanned more than five minutes. Freshman LaKeisha Sutton contributed mightily to the spurt with quick hands on defense, while sophomore point guard Samone Kennedy got the Gamecocks running the floor.
Back-to-back jumpers from Sutton narrowed the deficit to four points, and Tate pulled Carolina within a bucket on a jumper off Adams’ offensive rebound. Sophomore Lauren Falohun brought the Gamecocks within a point on layup, and Adams picked the pocket of Camille Murphy and found Brionna Dickerson trailing the break for a layup and Carolina’s first lead of the night at 28-27 with 4:11 left in the half.
The teams traded baskets the remainder of the half with Peach State Elite taking a 36-37 lead into the break. The Gamecocks’ deficit got to five on Nikki Luckhurst’s 3-pointer with just under 14 minutes left in the half, but solid rebounding from Adams sparked a decisive 14-0 run. The senior forward tied the game at 51-51 on a put-back with 12:25 to go, and the Gamecocks never looked back.
The lead twice grew to 12 points, and Peach State Elite tried to rally at the end, narrowing the gap to six at 73-67 with 1:27 left on a pair of Luckhurst free throws. Dickerson and Adams combined to hold back the charge, accounting for the team’s remaining five pints and one rebound in waning moments of the victory.
While Dickerson led the way with a team-high 16 points, Adams ended the night with 14 points and 16 rebounds. Sutton, Tate and freshman Sada Wheeler each kicked in 10 points as well.
South Carolina opens its regular season on Sun., Nov. 16, at Penn State before returning to the friendly confines of Colonial Life Arena on Wed., Nov. 19, to take on archrival Clemson.
