COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina coach
Dawn Staley's spent the past four seasons waiting for the Gamecocks'
improved play to show up in the win column. That time looks like it's
now.
The 24th-ranked Gamecocks built a
12-point lead, watched it all disappear yet hung on to defeat Florida
62-58 on Sunday night. Markeshia Grant scored 20 points, making five
3-pointers, and LaKeisha Sutton clinched the victory with a scoop shot
and free throw in the final minute as South Carolina (19-6, 8-4
Southeastern Conference) achieved its highest win total so far in
Staley's four seasons.
Staley, one of America's most
accomplished basketball personalities with three Olympic gold medals as a
player, expected her program to come together even quicker than it has.
But Staley re-adjusted and is grateful to watch what's happening as her
players grow.
“Everything is a process. For me just as
a coach, I had to exert some patience,” Staley said. “They're learning
how to win and I don't think that was always the case.”
This looked for much of the second half
in a textbook lesson in how to lose. The Gamecocks were up 45-35 in the
second half and were shooting past a Florida team struggling to make
shots and hold on to the ball.
The Gators (16-9, 6-6) found their rhythm down the stretch and turned the one-time blowout into a nail-biter.
Deana Allen's bucket with 6:33 left tied
things at 54-all and the Gamecocks were back on their heels. That's
when Grant, a senior averaging 11 points a game, showed the growth her
coach sought with her fifth three pointer with 5:02 remaining. Sutton
followed with a pair of foul shots to extend the lead.
Florida rallied to 59-58 after Lanita
Bartley's layup with 2:04 to go. Again, Sutton, a senior, stepped up
with a one-handed scoop shot with 32.5 seconds left off an isolation
play called “Chicago.”
Staley knew Sutton could score off the dribble and if she got fouled could make the shots.
“I just went in with the mindset that I was going to get the bucket,” Sutton said.
Florida had one last chance. But Lilly
Svete's tying 3-pointer from the left corner missed and Bartley's short
putback was also off the mark. Aleighsa Welch grabbed the rebound and
passed it to Sutton, who was fouled and converted the clinching foul
shot.
“I think we just stayed together,” Grant said. “We just focused in.”
No one was more focused than Grant, the
5-foot-6 guard nicknamed “Granny” for her slow pace everywhere but on
the court. Grant made 5-of-6 shots from behind the arc.
She also added three rebounds and a block.
Tina Roy added 11 points and Ieasia Walker 10 for South Carolina.
Jennifer George had 17 points and 10
rebounds to lead Florida, which saw its three-game end. Allen had 14
points and Bartley 10 points and eight rebounds for the Gators.
“Thought we played a great second half,
but you can't play a soft 20 minutes against a really good team on their
home floor,” Florida coach Amanda Butler said.
South Carolina returned to the rankings
this week after a landmark stretch of four straight wins capped by its
first-ever win on Rocky Top, 64-60, over Tennessee on Feb. 2.
The Gamecocks, though, came out as flat
as they had all year this past Thursday, trailing most of the way in
their most lopsided loss of the year, 68-47, at Arkansas. Whatever coach
Dawn Staley said to her Gamecocks the past couple of practices seemed
to work.
South Carolina and Grant came out fast and on fire right from the start against the Gators.
Grant had two 3-pointers and Welch, a
freshman making her first career start, had a putback bucket as the
Gamecocks opened a 14-7 lead.
Grant's third 3 of the half midway through the period increased South Carolina's edge to 26-16.
Still, the Gators wouldn't let the
Gamecocks get too far ahead and cut the margin to 33-27 on Bartley's two
foul shots with 4:10 to go in the opening half. That's when South
Carolina freshman Roy took over. She made two 3-pointers and scored
eight of the team's last 10 points as the Gamecocks took a 43-33 lead
into the break.
Florida finally got its attack going in
the second half. Allen had four points, George two baskets and Jordan
Jones a 3 to cut South Carolina's 10-point lead to 52-48.
Moments later, Allen's wide-open jumper tied the game at 54-all — and set things up for Grant's dramatic go-ahead three.
The Gators had their chances to pull
ahead — Stewart was short on a drive to the basket that would've put
Florida up for the first time since leading 2-0 — and were swept in a
season series by the Gamecocks for the first time since South Carolina
joined the SEC in 1992.
South Carolina, which shot 51.5 percent
(17 of 33) in the opening half, cooled off by going 7 of 25 (28 percent)
after halftime.
The Gamecocks have plenty of challenges
left if they hope to reach Staley's goal of the NCAA tournament,
something the program hasn't achieved since 2003. Their final four SEC
games included ranked opponents in Georgia and Kentucky, plus Arkansas,
which is the hottest team in the lead with an eight-game win streak.
Staley doesn't mind her players thinking
bigger picture as they prepare for the closing stretch. “We've put
ourselves in position to be talked about,” she said.
Both teams honored the late North
Carolina State coach Kay Yow in the “Play4Kay” game. Florida wore pink
uniforms and the Gamecocks pink socks. The coaching staffs wore plenty
of pink and even the officials had pink whistles. The effort recognizes
the legacy of Yow, who died of breast cancer in 2009.
