COLUMBIA — South Carolina women’s basketball picked up a 65-37 win over in-state rival Clemson on Nov. 11, but the final score doesn’t reflect the hot and cold streaks of both offense and defense throughout the night.
No. 2 South Carolina (3-0) found itself up by just 10 to the Tigers (2-1) heading into the final quarter before finishing the final 10 minutes on a 20-2 run, which is the second-fewest points allowed in a quarter in program history. That bar can only be tied, since the fewest allowed is zero.
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“Basketball is a game of runs,” South Carolina guard guard Tessa Johnson said. “That’s kind of expected. Once we got to the low part of our end, we kind of kept it there. We need to figure it out. I also think it’s just … still getting chemistry with each other and being able to adjust quicker.”
The Gamecocks went on an 11-0 run to start the game. Midway through the second quarter, Clemson cut the deficit to six but South Carolina hit three straight shots to make it an 11-point game game.
Coming out of the halftime break up 35-24, the Gamecocks had a chance to step back on the gas but instead went almost eight minutes without a basket.
“We had a good group that was disciplined,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “Sometimes you go an entire game and one group is just more linked and connected.”
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Chemistry is a fundamental element to this season’s team since Staley has just nine players while Maddy McDaniel is suspended for an indefinite amount of time. In the first two games, the large margin of victory minimized most mistakes.
“As much I can get mad at what’s happening on the floor, when you really look it at we’re just a really young basketball team, inexperienced and having to play together,” Staley said. “We got to go through some things.”
Staley has four new starters, which included two transfers alongside Johnson, a junior, and Raven Johnson, a fifth-year player. Her bench averaged a combined 4:24 last year but is now forced to play much more given the depth situation.
As Clemson coach Shawn Poppie pointed out, in that game-changing fourth quarter the Tigers had wide open shots but just didn’t hit them.
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South Carolina plays No. 10 Southern Cal next
South Carolina faces No. 10 Southern Cal next on Nov. 15 (9 p.m. ET, FOX) in Los Angeles, and the Trojans have two players averaging 17.5 points per game. So wide-open shots like Clemson had all night around the perimeter could be dangerous.
Londynn Jones went 5-of-5 from the 3-point line against the Gamecocks in the loss to UCLA last November and now plays for the Trojans. She’s one of the two averaging nearly 18 per game, and hit four against NC State on Nov. 9.
“I thought it was a real challenge for us tonight, they challenged us to be more disciplined,” Staley said of Clemson. “It’s really good stuff that we need to show our team so we can recognize it. Everything is about awareness and recognition for this team.”
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To close November, South Carolina faces Duke then either Texas or UCLA, all three of which are likely to be ranked in the top 25 at the time.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky@bylulukesin.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Do South Carolina struggles worry Dawn Staley with Southern Cal next?
