No. 5 South Carolina wins 13th straight over Ole Miss, 68-43

COLUMBIA, S.,C. (AP) Zia Cooke scored 17 points and No. 5 South Carolina won its 13th game in a row against Mississippi, a 68-43 victory on Thursday.

The Gamecocks (19-3, 14-1 Southeastern Conference) remained on track for a second consecutive SEC regular-season crown with a showdown for the title at one-loss No. 3 Texas A&M on Sunday.

Cooke got South Carolina out fast with 12 first-quarter points and its defense held the Rebels to their worst shooting performance of the season.

Ole Miss (9-10, 3-10) made just four field goals combined in the second and third quarters as South Carolina’s lead grew to 21 points. The Rebels were just 4 of 34 (11%) in that stretch and finished the game shooting 26.2% (16 of 61).

South Carolina couldn’t afford a slip at this odd weekday start time – Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said earlier this week when she asked her operations people what was a good time to play, she was told early afternoon – with the Aggies looming.

Cooke came out on fire, scoring 10 of South Carolina’s first 12 points.

While she cooled down in the second quarter (she started 0 for 6), South Carolina’s defense did not as Mississippi struggled to find open shots. The Rebels finished the half missing their last 12 attempts and the Gamecocks held a 33-20 lead at halftime.

Shakira Austin scored a game-high 22 points for Mississippi.

LeLe Grissett added 12 points and Victaria Saxton 10 for the Gamecocks.

The game was originally set as the SEC opener for both teams on Dec. 31. That game, though, was postponed due to COVID-19 issues among the Rebels. Instead, Florida, which had been scheduled for Feb. 25, stepped in and lost 75-59 to the Gamecocks on New Year’s Eve.

THE BIG PICTURE

Mississippi: The Rebels have taken steps forward this season (they were last in the SEC at 0-16 last year) but still don’t have enough scoring punch to match the league’s best teams. Ole Miss has lost 10 or more SEC games in six consecutive seasons.

South Carolina: Perhaps due to the early weekday tipoff, nobody on the Gamecocks was particularly crisp in this one. Even Cooke struggled from the field, shooting 7 of 23. Aliyah Boston ended with seven points, her second straight game in single digits. South Carolina will have to be sharper if it hopes to beat the rising Aggies.

gh octane offensive first quarter for both teams, the Gamecock defense locked down in the second, allowing Ole Miss just 1-of-15 field goals and four points in the quarter. The Rebels’ four turnovers included a pair of shot clock violations, and the Gamecocks controlled the defensive glass, allowing just Ole Miss just two offensive rebounds in the period.
 
KEY STAT 
The Gamecocks made the most of their 9-5 offensive rebounding advantage, outscoring Ole Miss 18-7 in second-chance points. 

NOTABLES 

• South Carolina continues to dominate on the glass, outrebounding Ole Miss 43-28. The Gamecocks have not been outrebounded this season and have held double-digit rebounding advantages in 12 of their 15 SEC games. 
• Sophomore Zia Cooke scored the first eight points of the game and 12 in the first quarter for the Garnet and Black on her way to a team-high 17 points. This is the 11th straight game in double figures for the Toledo, Ohio, native.  
• Senior LeLe Grissett cracked double figures for the second straight game as she poured in 12 points off the bench. She and Laeticia Amihere provided all 20 of the Gamecocks’ bench points.
• Junior Victaria Saxton asserted herself in the paint, scoring 10 points and pulling down eight rebounds with six of her points coming in the fourth.  
• Sophomore Aliyah Boston continued her streak of double-digit rebounding performances, pushing it to six with 11 boards. Boston also dished out a pair of assists and blocked two shots in addition to her seven points. 

UP NEXT 
The No. 5/6 Gamecocks (19-3, 14-1 SEC) close out the regular season with a trip to Bryan-College Station to face No. 3/3 Texas A&M (20-1, 11-1 SEC) on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2.

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