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Jan. 8, 2015

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GAMECOCK BASKETBALL
Post-Game Press Conference

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 1/1 South Carolina hit its last 11 field goal attempts in the first half to shake off a slow start in a 102-59 win over Alabama at Foster Auditorium Thursday night, reaching the 100-point mark in an SEC regular-season game for the first time in school history. Junior Asia Dozier paced the offense early, matching the Crimson Tide’s total through the first seven minutes of play until the rest of the Gamecocks (15-0, 3-0 SEC) caught up. South Carolina’s 3-of-10 start from the field kept it tight early, but six-straight points from Aleighsa Welch got the Gamecocks back on track, finishing the half at 67.9 percent shooting.

Dozier was the early hero for South Carolina, hitting a pair of 3s to open the game and burying a mid-range jumper at the end of the shot clock to tie the game at 8-8 with 15:14 on the clock. Following a series of turnovers that the Gamecocks could not turn into points, Alabama’s Quanetria Bolton drained a 3 to put the Crimson Tide up 11-8 two minutes later. South Carolina scored five unanswered points, but saw Alabama’s Meoshonti Knight net the next four to put her team on top 15-13 at the 11:47 mark of the period. From there, the Gamecocks asserted themselves on both ends of the floor.

Welch sparked the rally, hitting a baseline jumper to tie the game. The senior blocked a shot on the other end and hit the resulting transition layup. A’ja Wilson reeled in a defensive rebound, and Welch buried a free-throw line jump shot. Wilson capped the run with a free throw for a 20-15 Gamecock lead. The Crimson Tide kept the Gamecocks within reach by continuing to hit shots, but South Carolina had found its rhythm offensively.

With a 25-21 lead after another Bolton 3-pointer, Alaina Coates kicked off a 13-2 Gamecock run with a bucket from the right block off a pass over the top from Dozier. A shot clock violation gave the Gamecocks the ball back, and Tiffany Mitchell got going offensively with a drive to the basket. Working the top of the zone, Khadijah Sessions picked up a pair of steals on the Crimson Tide’s next two possessions with Mitchell turning the first into a 3-pointer from the left side and Coates hitting a turnaround jumper off the second for a 34-21 South Carolina advantage with 5:37 left in the period. Under the pressure of the Gamecocks hitting every shot down the stretch, Alabama’s offense could not keep pace and trailed 48-30 at the break.

South Carolina did not let up in the second half, continuing to shoot over 60 percent from the field as they rounded out the road conference win.

Coates matched a season high with 20 points to lead the Gamecocks. Wilson extended her streak of double-digit scoring performances to 14 with 11 points and led South Carolina with five rebounds. Narrowly missing a career high, Dozier tallied 15 points after her hot start from the field. Mitchell added 16 while Tina Roy equaled her career SEC best with 11 and Welch posted 10 to join them in double figures. Sessions was the main distributor tonight, doling out five assists. The guard did not commit a turnover and also swiped four steals. The Gamecocks were solid at the free throw line, hitting 17-of-20.

GAMECHANGER

South Carolina hit just 3-of-10 from the field over the first six minutes of the game as only Asia Dozier was on target early. The Gamecocks played the remaining 14 minutes shooting 88.9 percent (16-of-18), including the last 11 attempts of the period to take a 48-30 lead into halftime.

KEY STAT After recording a combined 41 turnovers in their first two conference match ups vs. Auburn and at LSU, the Gamecocks gave the ball up just seven times tonight.

NOTABLES

  • The Gamecocks scored 100 points in an SEC regular-season game for the first time in school history. After over a six-year gap between 100-point outputs, South Carolina has reached the century mark twice in the last seven games after a 111-49 win over Savannah State on Dec. 14.
  • South Carolina shot a Staley era best 63.8 percent (37-of-58) from the floor in tonight’s contest, the best field goal percentage since 2002, when the Gamecocks went 45-of-69 (.652) vs. East Tennessee State.
  • Six Gamecocks reached double figures for the first time since a 78-62 win over Missouri on Feb. 2, 2014.

TWEETS OF THE GAME

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UP NEXT

South Carolina returns to Columbia for a top-10 matchup on Sun., Jan 11, hosting No. 10/11 Kentucky at Colonial Life Arena in a 1 p.m. tipoff on ESPN2 with doors opening at 11:30 a.m. and the first 6,000 fans getting rally towels courtesy of AllSouth Federal Credit Union. The Gamecocks will recognize the winners and participants in the second segment of their Read with the Gamecocks program. Associate head coach Lisa Boyer will give season ticket holders a preview of the game in the Chalk Talk Presented by AllSouth Federal Credit Union beginning at 11:45 a.m.

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