South Carolina Stops Huskies

Tyasha Harris (52) led South Carolina with 19 points and 11 assists as
the Gamecocks defeated the Huskies for the first time in their history.

By Bob Phillips

COLUMBIA, SC—This has been a different kind of year for the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team. Playing a weak conference that offers virtually no competition, the Huskies typically stockpile dates with ranked teams to keep things interesting. Such was the case on Monday when Connecticut traveled to enemy territory to challenge coach Dawn Staley and the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks.

The end result was not a positive one for Husky fans. Four Gamecocks scored in double digits, and South Carolina ultimately showed why they’re the top dog in women’s college basketball with a masterful 70-52 thrashing of the Huskies before 18,000 partisan fans at Colonial Life Arena and a national television audience on ESPN2.

How bad was it? Consider this: A swarming, smothering South Carolina defense held the Huskies to one field goal—you heard that right, one field goal—in the opening period. Connecticut shot an atrocious 1-for-16 in the first quarter (6.3 percent). Husky D was the only think that kept UConn remotely in the contest at this point as the Huskies trailed by just nine, 11-2, at the first turn. That represented the lowest point total for the Huskies in any single period since the NCAA switched to quarters in the 2015-16 season. Their lowest previous first period scoring total was against Tulane in 2016 (8 points), and their lowest total in any quarter prior to Monday was 6 points (fourth quarter vs. No. 2 Baylor at Gampel last month).

Ty Harris led the Gamecocks with 19 points and 11 assists, while Aliayah Boston also turned in a double-double (13 points, 12 rebounds). It was the 10th Double-D of the season for the 6-5 freshman. Boston was also a major contributor on defense for South Carolina, with three of the Gamecock’s eight steals. In addition, she also made her first three-pointer of the season. Zia Cooke, another freshman, had 15 points for the Gamecocks.

Crystal Dangerfield led the Huskies with a career-high 25 points. Megan Walker and Olivia Nelson-Ododa added 10 points each for the Huskies.

South Carolina took a 35-22 lead into the locker room at halftime, and built a 21-point lead, 52-31 early in the second half. The Huskies fought back and drew within 11 on a jumper by Dangerfield to open the fourth quarter, but a bucket by Boston and a trey from Mikiah Herbert Harrigan gave the Gamecocks a 16-point advantage—and, for all practical purposes, put the contest out of reach for the Huskies.

For the game, the Huskies shot a subpar 36.1 percent from the floor (22-for-61) including 4-for-17 (23.5 percent) from beyond the arc. The Gamecocks, meanwhile, shot 43.9 percent from the field (29-for-66), including 8-for-22 (36.4 percent) from downtown. While the UConn actually outscored South Carolina in the paint (24-18), the Huskies gave up 11 points on turnovers (to the Gamecocks’ 6) and were outscored 13-7 in transition. Perhaps the key stat indicating how non-competitive this contest was free throws. Only eight points were scored from the charity stripe—each team had just four made foul shots.

The win represented the 17th straight victory for Dawn Staley’s troops, and their ninth win in 10 contest vs. ranked opponents. It was also the Gamecocks’ first-ever win over the Huskies. Staley, of course, took the helm of the U.S. National Team after a successful run by Geno Auriemma (including two Olympic Gold medals).

With the loss, the Huskies, fall to 20-3 with the losses coming to the No. 1, 2 and 3-ranked teams—South Carolina, Oregon, and Baylor. Connecticut returns to conference play on Sunday, and that couldn’t come soon enough for Husky fans, as UConn has never lost a game—regular season or championship tournament play—as a member of the American Athletic Conference. On Sunday, it will be a trip to Tampa to take on the USF Bulls.

“We have a game Sunday against a pretty good South Florida team on the road, so we’ve got a couple of days to get ready for that, and the rest of the season is pretty much the best teams in our league at this point,” said Huskies’ head coach Geno Auriemma. “And when the postseason comes, the postseason will have its own challenges.”

The AAC postseason tournament will be played March 6-9 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville.

THE SKINNY

—with staff reports

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