Jan. 23, 2017
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Junior forward A’ja Wilson matched her SEC career high with 26 points and junior guard Allisha Gray scored 16 of her 17 points in the second half to help No. 5/5 South Carolina hold off No. 4/4 Mississippi State 64-61 in Monday’s top-five battle at Colonial Life Arena. The win handed the Bulldogs their first loss of the season and moved the Gamecocks atop the SEC standings with a 7-0 conference mark and a 17-1 record overall. Mississippi State dropped to 20-1 and 6-1 in league action with the loss.
Wilson jump-started the Carolina offense with 16 first-half points, including nine in the second period. She shot 10-of-13 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the free throw line to go along with nine boards and three blocks. Gray came alive in the second half, scoring eight points during a 13-2 Carolina run to start the third quarter that put the Gamecocks in front midway through the period. She netted each of Carolina’s first two field goals in the fourth quarter and made two of the Gamecocks’ three 3-pointers on the night. Senior center Alaina Coates totaled nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds as she fell just short of another double-double.
With the contest still a one-possession game in a back-and-fourth final period, Wilson and Gray delivered game-changing plays to help secure the victory. Wilson converted a difficult turnaround jumper from the left side to put Carolina in front 58-55 with just under three minutes to play before Gray’s hustle on the defensive side denied a key basket that would have put the Bulldogs ahead two minutes later. Gray’s 3-point attempt from the left corner led to a Bulldog rebound that quickly set up an easy basket in transition for guard Victoria Vivians, but the Gamecocks’ junior sprinted to the other end and challenged the layup, causing a miss and a Wilson rebound. Coates drove for a layup on the other end to make it 62-59 with 25 seconds remaining, but Vivians was fouled on a 3-point attempt on the Bulldogs’ ensuing possession. Vivians converted the first two from the line, and the Bulldogs earned another possession after Carolina knocked the ball out of bounds following the guard’s miss on her third attempt. Great defense on the out of bounds play forced a poor shot by the Bulldogs from the right side of the paint, and Wilson was there to grab the rebound before being sent to the line after a Mississippi State foul with two seconds left in the contest. Wilson calmly connected on both from the charity stripe, and the Gamecocks clinched the win after the Bulldogs couldn’t connect on a last-second heave from long range.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-0 lead after controlling the glass with four early offensive rebounds. Wilson put Carolina on the board with a put-back bucket to make it 7-2, and the Mississippi State advantage was cut to 9-7 when the junior forward collected another offensive rebound and converted the three-point play with 5:18 left in the first quarter. A 5-0 Bulldog run stretched the Mississippi State lead back to seven at 14-7 before the Gamecock frontcourt began to establish itself down low. Wilson netted her third field goal of the quarter to bring the score to 14-9, and Coates cut the lead to three after a pair of free throws on Carolina’s next trip down the floor. The free throws marked the first of six-straight points for the center, whose layup and put-back basket a minute later put the Gamecocks within one of the lead at 16-15 with 32 seconds to play in the period. The basket provided the final points of the quarter, and Carolina headed to the first break down just one after closing the period on an 8-2 run. Coates and Wilson accounted for 13 of the Gamecocks’ 15 first-quarter points.
Carolina’s points continued to come from its frontcourt in the second quarter, with Wilson pacing the charge. A jumper from the forward gave the Gamecocks their first lead of the night at 17-16, and great looks inside from Coates led to two more field goals down low from Wilson and evened the score at 20 with 7:27 remaining in the first half. After a two-minute Gamecock scoring drought allowed the Bulldogs to build a 31-23 lead, Wilson again provided the response with an acrobatic layup from the left side that led to another three-point play. The basket and free throw made it 31-26 Bulldogs and marked the seventh first-half field goal for Wilson. She scored nine of Carolina’s 13 points in the quarter and finished the half with 16 on 7-of-8 shooting to go along with five rebounds. The Gamecocks shot 55.6 percent from the floor in the opening two quarters and headed to the locker room trailing 35-28.
Led by Gray, the Gamecocks grabbed momentum and a four-point lead midway through the third quarter behind a 13-2 run to start the period. The junior asserted herself from beyond the arc and knocked down a pair of 3s and two free throws during the pivotal stretch that gave Carolina a 41-37 lead with 5:38 to play in the period. Gray continued to make plays for the Gamecocks, and a great offensive board led to a free throw from the guard to make it 43-40 Gamecocks with 3:36 remaining in the period. The teams traded points over the next few minutes, with Davis and Wilson both registering points from the line. A three-point play by Mississippi State put the Bulldogs back in front 48-46 later in the quarter before Gray capped off her stellar third-quarter showing with another great hustle play. The guard ripped down an offensive board off Cuevas-Moore’s missed 3-pointer and converted the put-back bucket from the left block while being fouled. She completed the 3-point play with 30 seconds to go in the quarter, and Carolina entered the final period leading 49-48. The Gamecocks outscored the Bulldogs 21-13 for the quarter, with Gray netting 12 points in the period.
Gray’s torrid second-half performance carried over to the fourth quarter when she raced into the paint to score a pair of nifty layups from the right and left blocks. The second layup made it 53-51 Gamecocks with 8:14 to play before both offenses struggled over the next three minutes, tallying just one field goal apiece.
Both teams scored 32 points in the paint, while Carolina shot 47.2 percent from the floor for the game. The Gamecock starters accounted for 61 of the team’s 64 points and each of Carolina’s 20 field goals.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Dawn Staley
On Carolina’s run in the second quarter that gave the Gamecocks control heading into halftime
“We competed for 40 minutes whether it looked great or not. We were locked in and focused, and I was real proud of the effort to do that. At times different players stepped up, whether it was Allisha Gray sprinting back to deter a wide-open layup. It was those kind of plays that our players need to see. It had an impact on the game. It’s moments like that we are looking for our players to execute.”
GAMECHANGER
Junior Allisha Gray made the defensive play of the game when she raced down the court and forced a missed layup by Bulldog guard Victoria Vivians that would have put Mississippi State in front with 54 seconds to play in the contest. The Bulldogs missed six of their final eight shots of the game.
KEY STAT
The Gamecocks did a good job of keeping Mississippi State off the line, and the Bulldogs made just three free throws on nine attempts. Carolina went 21-of-28 from the charity stripe in the win.
NOTABLES
- The Gamecocks have won each of their last 12 games against ranked SEC opponents in a streak dating back to 2015.
- Junior A’ja Wilson’s first block against the Bulldogs gave the forward 200 for her career.
- Monday marked the second time this season Wilson netted double-digit field goals. Both performances came against ranked foes.
- Center Alaina Coates averaged a double-double (14.0 points, 13.3 rebounds) in Carolina’s four games against top-10 teams this season.
UP NEXT
Carolina travels to Georgia to take on the Lady Bulldogs in an SEC contest set for Thu., Jan. 26, at Stegeman Coliseum. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. on SEC Network.
