Athens, Georgia — South Carolina’s women’s basketball scored its lowest in the first half of the season in the first 20 minutes against Georgia. He turned the ball over 10 times, shot less than 30% from the field, and never took the lead.
But when sales picked up, the nation’s number one team looked good again. The Gamecocks outscored the Bulldogs 21-11 in the third quarter and he 42-22 in the second half for a 68-51 victory in the first road game of the SEC schedule.
Gia Cook Entering the game in the hottest offensive stretch of the season, scoring 14+ points in four straight games, she posted a career-high 31 points on 8-of-19 shooting and 4-of-12 shooting. 3 point range. Not only was it Cook’s best performance of the season, but it was her best offensive outing, four or more, of any South Carolina player.
“I think it’s about being consistent,” Cook said, which was key to her night. I listened to her and my teammates found me and I was moving towards the ball.”
During the long play, Cook was South Carolina’s lone player (14-0, 2-0 SEC) and continued to attack.A big lineup that supports Aaliyah Boston When Camila Cardoso — Dawn Staley Boston and Cardoso combined to shoot 2-for-9 in the first half and 5-for-15 in the game. did.
And with regards to the Gamecock trend, turnovers plagued the first half of the year with a sudden resurgence. A total of 10 first-half turnovers is just the latest episode for this team. This follows 15 turnovers against Texas A&M, 15 turnovers against Coastal Carolina, and his 20th consecutive three-game overtime in November.
Georgia (11-5, 0-2 SEC) took advantage of turnovers to lead the entire first half and retain a seven-point advantage.Ugly possession after ugly possession made South Carolina never rule like Georgia Audrey Warren When Brittany Smith Both scored in double digits.
“I just told them there was a difference between what they did now and what they had to do,” Staley said in what was his message at halftime. Obviously we didn’t do well in the first half.Secondly, we always take the best shots of people.And three, I thought they were [Georgia] Just discarded it. They got all the loose balls, 50-50 balls. We had no choice but to weather the storm. ”
After halftime, however, Cook took over.
She scored 20 points after halftime and 15 in the fourth quarter, almost single-handedly erasing the memory of the first half, a spirited Georgia performance and what Staley called a “rocking gym” at the Stegemann Coliseum. A paintpacking defense in the first half left open shooters with opportunities to build momentum, but between turnovers and sloppy passes that led to mistakes, Cook took matters into his own hands. It never happened until I resolved it.
Her electric fourth quarter made her the first South Carolina player since to score 30 points in a single game. tea cooper He did it against Drake in 2018, and it’s the first time anyone in the program has broken the 30-point barrier in an SEC game since. Briana Dickerson Scored 31 points against Ole Miss in 2009.
“She got a great shot,” Staley said of Cook. rice field.”
Those free throws helped her have an explosive night. Cook was 11-of-13 from the line and 7-of-9 in the second half as part of a team effort that saw South Carolina go 17-of-23 on free throws.
The Gamecocks will return to Colonial Life Arena to take on the Auburn Tigers across the regular season midpoint on Thursday night.