Jan. 15, 2012

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 24 South Carolina dropped a 66-58 decision to No. 9/8 Kentucky Sunday afternoon in SEC women’s basketball action at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks (14-4, 3-2 SEC) out-rebounded the Wildcats (16-2, 5-0 SEC) on the afternoon but saw Kentucky’s 11 second-half offensive rebounds help them to the comeback victory. South Carolina was led by junior Ieasia Walker, who posted 14 points. Senior La’Keisha Sutton added 12 points, while Charenee Stephens pulled down a season-high eight rebounds.

After facing an early 7-0 deficit created by Kentucky’s press, Sutton used two steals to net the Gamecocks’ first six points of the game to help South Carolina get on the board.

“I thought we did a pretty good job with [Kentucky’s pressure], considering they went to a zone to change it up. We have to take some good from [how we handled it]. They don’t really play zone a lot, but we saw some zone today. So you kind of attribute that to us being able to drive to the basket. We just couldn’t overcome our turnovers,” said South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley.

South Carolina out rebounded the Wildcats 22-11 in the first half, led by Stephens who grabbed seven in the period. The momentum coming from the rebounds helped the Gamecocks take the lead over Kentucky before halftime.

After Sutton’s six points got the offense on track, freshman Aleighsa Welch was the beneficiary of some good interior passing from the Gamecocks’ driving guards. Walker found her alone on the right block after a hard drive through the lane, and Welch made brought her team within 12-10 midway through the period with a putback. Walker’s 3-pointer from the right wing made it a 14-13 affair with 10:11 to go before the break. Two possessions later, her 3 from the opposite wing knotted things up at 18-18. The teams traded baskets down the stretch, before Kentucky got a stop for a 28-23 lead. Welch’s traditional three-point play and Sancheon White’s 3-pointer from the right win just before the buzzer sent the Gamecocks into the locker room with a 29-28 advantage.

Coming out of the halftime South Carolina maintained some of its momentum from the first half to continue to build on its lead, thanks to limiting turnovers for the first 10 minutes of the half. During the stretch, the offense was clicking and the Gamecocks were all over Kentucky’s misses, which established a 45-36 edge with 10:01 left to play. Ashley Bruner needed five points during the surge, and Sutton and Walker added the rest.

The Wildcats had one final push in them, especially on the defensive end where they turned up the pressure another notch. Eight of the Gamecocks’ 28 turnovers in the game came in the closing minutes of the half, helping Kentucky to a 58-51 advantage with three minutes to go. From there, the Wildcats held off a late South Carolina charge, which included five quick points from Tina Roy, to pick up the victory.

Stephens eight rebounds led three players with six or more, including Welch who added seven to her 11 points. Walker pulled down six while handing out a team-high five assists and picking up three steals. The Gamecocks held Kentucky 15 points below its season average of 81.1 but yielded 30 points off their 29 turnovers.

The Gamecocks are back on the road for their next two games, traveling to Auburn for a Thursday night contest before heading to Nashville, Tenn., for a rematch with Vanderbilt on Sunday.