WACH Fox News Center
WACH Fox News Center covers stories around the Midlands and across the state 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Read more: Local, Sports, USC Basketball, Gamecock Basketball, Womens Basketball, Womens Tournament, Gamecock Women, Gamecocks NCAA, Dawn Staley, NCAA Tournament, March Madness, USC Eastern Michigan, USC Purdue, College
|
|
WEST LAFAYETTE, IND – South Carolina shook off an early start and used its trademark defense to generate the season’s best offensive output in an 80-48 win over Eastern Michigan Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The fifth seed in the Fresno Region, the Gamecocks (24-9) posted their season-high 80 points thanks to season highs in assists (22) and blocks (11) and 53.3 percent field goal shooting. The defense held the Eagles (23-9) to 26.7 percent shooting.
“I thought we represented our University extremely well,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said. “[Playing in the SEC] put us in a position to play in an environment like this, which is a big environment. It’s a big stage for our basketball team, and I thought we executed from the very tip of the ball.”
The Gamecocks went to work in the first half. With the scored tied at 16, Markeshia Grant hit a pair of free throws after being fouled on a layup attempt following her steal at midcourt. Charenee Stephens added a free throw as well when she was fouled going after a rebound. EMU leading scorer Tavelyn James stopped the run briefly with a free throw, but South Carolina’s inside game was clicking. Ashley Bruner put back a rebound then Stephens finished off a nice baseline pass from Tina Roy and sank a baseline jumper for a 25-17 Gamecock advantage with 7:53 to play in the period.
La'Keisha Sutton's layup later sparked a 12-2 run. Roy put an exclamation point on the half with a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to give South Carolina a 39-23 advantage in the locker room.
The Gamecocks kept their foot on the gas early in the second half, quickly extending their lead to 26 points. The Eagles drew no closer than that after the first five minutes of the final stanza as South Carolina’s aggressive defense and deep bench sapped their energy and affected every shot.
Grant led the offense with 12 points, while Stephens and Bruner joined her with 11 and 10, respectively. Bruner’s seven rebounds led the way with Stephens and Walker adding six apiece. Sutton and Ieasia Walker combined for 11 of the team’s 22 assists, handing out six and five, respectively. Elem Ibiam’s five blocked shots tied the South Carolina freshman single-game record and is the most by any Gamecock in an NCAA Tournament game.
South Carolina will play Purdue on Monday at 7 p.m. The winner advances to the Sweet 16 in Fresno, California.
Popular Stories
|
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWACH