Instant analysis from No. 1 South Carolina's win over Ole Miss in SEC Tournament semifinals

NASHVILLE – Dawn Staley sprung from her seat where she had been perched nearly all of the first half.

On the other end of the floor, South Carolina senior forward Victaria Saxton had just been called for a 3-second violation as she caught an interior pass and Staley wasn't having any of it. While she was giving the official an earful of her thoughts, Ole Miss guard Angel Baker lost a pass in traffic with the ball coming out into the hands of Destanni Henderson, who gave it up to Zia Cooke for an and-one.

That layup from Cooke was the easiest basket for the top-ranked Gamecocks in the first half against the Rebels, who had played tight defense early.

SEC Quarterfinals: Instant analysis from No. 1 South Carolina's runaway win over Arkansas in SEC Tournament

USC basketball: 'Settling in': South Carolina's Laeticia Amihere finds rhythm in SEC Tourney opener

Championship pedigree: 'We're the blueprint': How South Carolina's 2014-15 team created the championship pedigree

South Carolina (29-1) went on the win, 61-51, inside Bridgestone Arena Saturday.

More accurately, Staley and her squad survived a dogfight to advance to the SEC Tournament Championship Game where it meet the winner of Kentucky-Tennessee Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.

Ole Miss zone defense gives Gamecocks fits

Pass, pass and pass before a rushed up shot at the end of the shot clock. Or a violation, which the Rebels forced two on the Gamecocks in the first six minutes of the game.

USC just couldn't crack Ole Miss' 2-3 zone defense early and often that did not feature many holes in it. The zone set the tempo for the game from the tip as it allowed the Rebels to dictate the speed South Carolina played with on offense.

The make matters worse, Yolett McPhee-McCuin implemented a three-quarter zone press off made baskets and timeouts. Ole Miss went back to it in the fourth quarter and some forced turnovers gave it a path to trim a 25-point game to an 8-point game with a little more than a minute left.

Destanni Henderson: What 2022 WNBA draft projections say about South Carolina point guard Destanni Henderson

Not controlling the tempo, that's something the Gamecocks have not been used for the majority of this season.

Aliyah Boston double-double

That was a battle.

Aliyah Boston secured her 23rd straight double-double against the Rebels Saturday. But she accomplished the feat in what seems like the latest she's had to do it in a game in a long time. She pulled down her 10th rebound with 4:58 left in the game.

The star junior forward battled both Shakira Austin and Madison Scott for real estate inside all game long. The Ole Miss tandem got Boston off to a slow start on the rebounding end as Boston entered the fourth with just five boards.

Boston finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Victaria Saxton ignites the Gamecocks in second half

Talk about a spark. Saxton obviously shook off any negative response to the lane violation and out of the locker room, put together one of the all-arouind impressive stretches.

In a 2:15 span, the senior forward scored six points, had a blocked shot and a steal, along with defensive rebound that helped balloon USC's lead to 17 points, then ultimately up to 23 points by the end of the third.

South Carolina defense smothering in its own right

While the offense needed some time to adjust in the early stages of the semfinals, South Carolina leaned on its defense.

The Gamecocks limited the Rebels to just 34 percent shooting. They gave up just 8 points in the third period.

Ole Miss star forward Shakira Austin, a projected top five WNBA Draft pick and how had been on a tear of late, posted 16 points against the defensive combination of Boston, Saxton and Kamilla Cardoso, but most of that was at the foul line late.

South Carolina turnovers lead to late Ole Miss run

The Gamecocks had the chance to really put Ole Miss away, boasting a 23-point lead entering the final period. But eight turnovers in the fourth allowed the Rebels to close the gap to 11 points with 2:24 to go.

In all, USC committed 22 turnovers, which Ole Miss converted to 14 points. That amount of turnovers will not be beneficial for USC moving forward into the SEC Tournament final and the NCAA Tournament.

Cory Diaz covers the South Carolina Gamecocks for The Greenville News as part of the USA Today Network. Follow his work for all things Gamecocks on Twitter: @CoryDiaz_TGN

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Key takeaways from South Carolinas win over Ole Miss in SEC Tournament