Gamecocks hold off Ole Miss to reach SEC tourney finals

No. 1 South Carolina women’s basketball moved one step closer to another one of its 2021-22 season goals, defeating No. 4-seed Ole Miss 61-51 on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena in the SEC women’s basketball tournament semifinals.

The Gamecocks (29-1) advanced to Sunday’s SEC tournament championship to face No. 7-seed Kentucky.

“I almost equate it with competing for a national championship,” head coach Dawn Staley said after the game.

“That’s the seriousness of wanting to win an SEC tournament championship.”

Ole Miss (23-8) headed into the fourth quarter down by 23 points, but eight South Carolina turnovers in the last period allowed the Rebels to shrink the lead to eight points with 1:39 to go in the game.

Rebels senior Angel Baker was the game’s leading scorer, finishing with 20 points off the bench Saturday, including 12 points in the first half. Rebels star Shakira Austin scored 11 points in the Rebels’ electric fourth quarter, finishing the game with 16 points on 6 of 17 from the field.

Here’s what we learned about the Gamecocks.

USC maintains win thanks to strong third-quarter effort

Victaria Saxton catalyzed a dominant offensive performance coming out of halftime for the Gamecocks, which already led by 11 points after the first two quarters.

Saxton scored the first six points for either team after halftime. She went 3 of 4 from the field in the third quarter, also tallying a block, a steal and a defensive rebound in the third period.

South Carolina scored 20 points in the third quarter behind an efficient 9 of 16 shooting. Along with Saxton’s six points, Laeticia Amihere contributed four points, with Destanni Henderson and Aliyah Boston adding three points each to the strong quarter.

South Carolina’s third-quarter offensive explosion paired with a dominant defensive showcase. The Gamecocks held the Rebels to just eight points on 2 of 15 shooting with five blocks and Saxton’s steal.

The Gamecocks entered the fourth quarter with a 23-point lead over Ole Miss.

The Rebels worked to mount a fourth-quarter comeback and outscored the Gamecocks 21-8 in the last period, but USC’s dominance from the previous quarters proved too much to overcome.

“I think the key word that coach harps to us is discipline, that we’ve got to be disciplined,” Amihere said. “It’s tournament time. We’re going to get the best from our opponents, so we’ve got to be aware, when crunch time comes, they’re going to do anything they can do to get back in the game.”

Gamecocks use first-half Ole Miss turnovers to their advantage

South Carolina and Ole Miss ended the first half with nine turnovers each, but the Gamecocks were able to turn Rebels’ miscues into consistent scoring opportunities.

The Gamecocks scored 17 of their 33 first-half points off of Ole Miss turnovers. The Rebels turned South Carolina’s nine turnovers into six points through the game’s opening 20 minutes.

The Gamecocks finished the game with more turnovers than Ole Miss (22-15), but they maintained a 21-14 advantage in points off those mistakes. Ole Miss scored seven points off eight South Carolina turnovers in its electric fourth quarter.

“We just have to point (the turnovers) out,” Staley said. “We’ve got to look at it. ... It’s a decision. Our turnovers were bad decisions. We have to be better as a collective group. I’ve got to be better with making sure we’ve got the right lineup out there, and we just lost the momentum.”

Aliyah Boston leads strong effort from USC post players

Boston was the Gamecocks’ leading scorer Saturday as she tallied her 23rd consecutive double-double against Ole Miss. She finished the game with 15 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks, three steals and two assists in 34 minutes on Saturday.

Boston was just one of the highlights from South Carolina’s talented crop of post players, who were showcased in Saturday’s win.

Saxton, the star of South Carolina’s dominant third quarter, finished the game with eight points, four steals and one block. Reserve Kamilla Cardoso added eight points and six rebounds, while Amihere contributed eight points, three rebounds, two assists and a block.