Jan. 5, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. – Junior guards Kaela Davis and Bianca Cuevas-Moore combined for 40 points and knocked down five 3-pointers each to lift No. 5/5 South Carolina over Auburn 73-47 Thursday night at Auburn Arena. The victory marked the 200th at Carolina for women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley and moved the Gamecocks to 12-1 overall and 2-0 in SEC play. The Tigers fell to 11-5 and 1-1 in conference action following the setback.
Carolina distanced itself from Auburn out of the gates behind strong defense and a historic opening quarter from Davis. The guard’s 19 points in the first period marked the most by a Gamecock in one quarter in program history, and Carolina built a significant cushion after holding the Tigers to just six points through 10 minutes. Davis scored all of her 21 points in the first half, while Cuevas-Moore chipped in a season-high 19 to go along with a career-best seven assists. Junior forward A’ja Wilson boasted a double-double after posting a line of 10 points and 11 boards for the Gamecocks, and sophomore guard Doniyah Cliney joined Cuevas-Moore in facilitating the offense with a career-high six assists. Carolina, which held Auburn to just 27.6 percent shooting from the floor, remained locked in defensively throughout the contest. The Tigers were again held to single digits in the fourth quarter after missing 11 of their final 12 field goal attempts, and Auburn finished the night 3-of-18 from the 3-point line.
Davis opened the game on a blistering pace from beyond the arc, knocking down five 3-pointers in the first quarter to give Carolina a 29-6 lead through 10 minutes. The junior’s first basket made it 3-0 Gamecocks 20 seconds in the game, and another 3-pointer from the guard pushed the advantage to 6-2. The bucket sparked a 20-0 run for Carolina, and Davis scored 13 of the team’s first 17 points of the game. Baskets down low from senior center Alaina Coates and Wilson established a double-digit lead for the Gamecocks at 13-2 with 6:34 left in the quarter before Davis continued her offensive onslaught. She knocked down two more field goals to put Carolina in front 17-2 midway through the period, and a 3-pointer from Davis on back-to-back trips down the floor gave the Gamecocks a 29-4 advantage late in the quarter. Carolina held the Tigers to two first-quarter field goals and converted seven 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes.
The Gamecock backcourt continued to carry Carolina’s offense in the second quarter, and jumpers from Cuevas-Moore and Davis grew the lead to 33-8 early in the period. Solid defense allowed the Gamecocks to maintain a sizeable cushion, with Coates leading the effort. An emphatic block by the center led to a layup in transition from junior guard Allisha Gray to make it 37-13 with 4:34 left in the first half. Good ball movement freed up Cuevas-Moore for a 3-pointer to give Carolina a 40-21 lead, and the Gamecocks headed to the locker room up 41-25.
Both teams struggled from the field throughout the early stages of the third quarter before the Gamecocks found their rhythm late in the period. The two traded a pair of baskets in the opening five minutes out of the break, and a jumper down low from Wilson made it 48-32 Carolina with just under five minutes to play in the quarter. Another basket in the paint from Wilson extended the advantage to 50-33, and Cuevas-Moore’s third 3-pointer of the night pushed the margin to 53-35 with 2:18 remaining in the period. Carolina’s final points of the quarter came from the 3-point line, as Cliney knocked down a field goal from the corner to give the Gamecocks a 58-39 lead after three periods.
The frontcourt provided the scoring for Carolina in the beginning of the fourth quarter, with Coates and freshman forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan connecting on field goals. Herbert-Harrigan’s basket from the left side sparked a 7-0 Gamecock run that stretched the lead to 67-41 with 5:32 left in the contest. The forward logged two blocks in the quarter, and Carolina’s defense continued to make life difficult for the Tigers. Auburn made just one field goal in the period and managed just eight points over the last 10 minutes. Cuevas-Moore provided the final exclamation point, capping off her impressive night with another 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in the game.
The Gamecocks ended the game with 14 field goals from beyond the arc and shot 50.0 percent from the 3-point line. Carolina held a 37-32 rebound advantage and totaled six blocks, getting two each from Wilson, Coates and Herbert Harrigan.
GAMECHANGER
Guard Kaela Davis’ torrid start to the contest sparked a 20-0 Carolina run that put the Gamecocks in front by 23 after one period. The junior outscored the Tigers 19-6 for the quarter.
KEY STAT
South Carolina enjoyed the better night from the 3-point line, connecting on 14 field goals from beyond the arc compared to just three for the Tigers. Six different Gamecocks converted a 3-pointer in the contest.
NOTABLES
- Dawn Staley is the second coach in program history to amass 200 wins at Carolina. Staley reached 200 victories in her ninth season, while Nancy Wilson (1985-97) tallied her 200th win at Carolina in her 11th year with the Gamecocks.
- South Carolina’s 50.0 percent shooting from the 3-point line against the Tigers marked a season high.
- Thursday was the first time two Gamecocks knocked down five 3-pointers in a game. Guard Bianca Cuevas-Moore’s five 3-pointers marked a career high for the junior.
- Carolina tallied 20 assists in the win over Auburn. It was the fourth time the Gamecocks finished a game with 20 or more assists.
UP NEXT
Carolina resumes road play in the SEC on Sun., Jan, 8, when it faces Florida. Tipoff from the Stephen C. O’Connell Center is set for noon ET, and the contest will air on ESPNU.
