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ChrisWellbaum
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WBB: Dominant Fourth Quarter Lifts South Carolina over UConn
- Dawn Staley shortened the rotation against UConn, playing Cooke, Henderson, and Boston over 33 minutes and only getting 40 combined minutes off the bench, but the Gamecocks' depth won this game. Staley was able to rest the Big Three Saturday and Sunday so while UConn wore down in the fourth quarter, they were still fresh.
- This is an unbelievable stat: UConn had 19 defensive rebounds. South Carolina had 19 offensive rebounds. Put another way, every shot missed by South Carolina was a 50/50 ball, meanwhile more than 80% (23 of 29) of UConn misses went to the Gamecocks. That's why they took 57 shots and UConn took 50.
- Bree Hall played six minutes, in the first half and ran around like a cat with her tail on fire. I mean that in a good way. UConn had to match her energy, all part of them wearing down. "She may not do all the right things, but she is not scared," Staley said.
- The decision to put Cooke back in with two fouls in the second quarter changed the game.
- Boston attempted a career-high 19 shots. She doesn't need 19 tries every game, but it needs to be double figures.
- Henderson took a lot of flack for her 5-17 shooting, 8 turnover game against UConn last season, and she got off to a slow start Monday. But she dominated the fourth quarter on both ends of the court, running the offense, getting the ball on the rim for offensive rebounds or scoring, and shutting down Paige Bueckers. It was a big redemption game.
- There were a lot of former Gamecocks watching the game and sharing thoughts on Twitter. A common theme at halftime was they knew Staley was about to give the team an earful. Cooke said it wasn't that bad. "I think Coach was pretty calm. She gave us a few plays that would work for us and told us we were in the game."
- Geno Auriemma, of course, had a grouchy but 100% correct take on what this game meant. "They probably left here thinking we just beat a really good team, so we must be really good, and shit they are. We're leaving here thinking we just lost to a really good team," he said.
- Dawn Staley shortened the rotation against UConn, playing Cooke, Henderson, and Boston over 33 minutes and only getting 40 combined minutes off the bench, but the Gamecocks' depth won this game. Staley was able to rest the Big Three Saturday and Sunday so while UConn wore down in the fourth quarter, they were still fresh.
- This is an unbelievable stat: UConn had 19 defensive rebounds. South Carolina had 19 offensive rebounds. Put another way, every shot missed by South Carolina was a 50/50 ball, meanwhile more than 80% (23 of 29) of UConn misses went to the Gamecocks. That's why they took 57 shots and UConn took 50.
- Bree Hall played six minutes, in the first half and ran around like a cat with her tail on fire. I mean that in a good way. UConn had to match her energy, all part of them wearing down. "She may not do all the right things, but she is not scared," Staley said.
- The decision to put Cooke back in with two fouls in the second quarter changed the game.
- Boston attempted a career-high 19 shots. She doesn't need 19 tries every game, but it needs to be double figures.
- Henderson took a lot of flack for her 5-17 shooting, 8 turnover game against UConn last season, and she got off to a slow start Monday. But she dominated the fourth quarter on both ends of the court, running the offense, getting the ball on the rim for offensive rebounds or scoring, and shutting down Paige Bueckers. It was a big redemption game.
- There were a lot of former Gamecocks watching the game and sharing thoughts on Twitter. A common theme at halftime was they knew Staley was about to give the team an earful. Cooke said it wasn't that bad. "I think Coach was pretty calm. She gave us a few plays that would work for us and told us we were in the game."
- Geno Auriemma, of course, had a grouchy but 100% correct take on what this game meant. "They probably left here thinking we just beat a really good team, so we must be really good, and shit they are. We're leaving here thinking we just lost to a really good team," he said.
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