Gamecocks Match Best Start of Staley Era with Win at Hampton

Article posted by South Carolina Gazette

COLUMBIA, S.C. - No. 1/1 South Carolina used a 19-5 run in the first half to pull away en route to a 69-49 win at Hampton Wednesday night. Junior Tiffany Mitchell matched her career high with six 3-pointers to finish with 20 points, while Alaina Coates posted her second-straight double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. With the win, the Gamecocks matched their best start under head coach Dawn Staley with their third-straight 10-0 start to the season.
Both teams were effective from outside early, but when the Gamecocks got more aggressive on the inside on both ends of the floor, they pulled away. Mitchell hit back-to-back 3s from the same spot on the right sideline in the opening minutes of the game to give the Gamecocks an 11-8 lead. After the Lady Pirates tied it up with a 3 from Kenia Cole, Mitchell hit again from the right sideline at the 13:42 mark for a 14-12 advantage that South Carolina would never relinquish.
The Gamecocks built their 13-point halftime lead behind a 19-4 surge midway through the first half. A'ja Wilson opened the run with a putback, and Bianca Cuevas turned an Alaina Coates block and Aleighsa Welch defensive rebound into a transition layup that sparked more up-tempo play. With Coates dominating the defensive glass and the Gamecock defense forcing the Lady Pirates into tough shots, the lead ballooned quickly. Wilson hit a pair of free throws, and Cuevas buried a deep baseline jumper. An offensive rebound extended the next possession, and Wilson made it a double-digit lead with a free-throw line jumper to make it a 24-14 game with 8:23 to play in the period.
Hampton's top scorer, Malia Tate-DeFreitas hit a 3 to interrupt the sweep, but the Gamecocks went right back to work with a free throw from Elem Ibiam and a putback from Khadijah Sessions. Tate-DeFreitas hit a pull-up jumper, and Mitchell answered with five straight points. Ibiam's free throw made it a 33-19 game with three minutes left in the half.
The second half began with much of the same, although the Lady Pirates coaxed the Gamecocks into a series of fouls that would not allow South Carolina to pull away.
The Gamecocks finished with four scoring in double figures as Cuevas netted a career-high 12 points and Wilson posted her ninth-straight double-digit game with 12 as well. South Carolina shot 47.4 percent (9-19) from 3-point range, and out-rebounded the Lady Pirates 48-21.

Cann Named Second Team AP All-American

Article posted by South Carolina Gazette
Columbia, SC--University of South Carolina senior offensive guard A.J. Cann earned second-team All-America honors according to the Associated Press, it was announced today.
Cann, a 6-4, 311-pounder from Bamberg, S.C., has been a four-year starter at guard for the Gamecocks. He has started 50 of the 51 games over the past four seasons, the second-most starts in Carolina history. A two-time captain, Cann helped lead a team that averaged over 33 points and 450 yards per game.
Since the regular season ended, Cann has been named first-team All-American by ESPN.com and CBSSportsline.com, was a second-team All-American by Walter Camp, and was a third-team selection by College Sports Madness.
Cann and his Gamecock teammates will travel to Shreveport to play Miami in the Duck Commander Independence Bowl on Saturday, December 27.

Efficient Offense Powers No. 1/1 Gamecocks Past Savannah State

Article posted by South Carolina Gazette

COLUMBIA, S.C. - No. 1/1 South Carolina showed little rust from its week-long exam break in a 111-49 win over Savannah State in the Gamecocks' final non-conference home game of the season, marking the most points scored in the Dawn Staley era. Senior Elem Ibiam poured in a career-high 21 points, including 12 in the first half and the first four of the second. South Carolina's defense forced 20 turnovers, including 11 steals to keep the Lady Tigers (4-3) from ever making a significant run.
Junior Tiffany Mitchell netted the team's first five points, but Savannah State turned a South Carolina offensive foul into back-to-back buckets to take a 6-5 lead. The Gamecocks turned up the defensive pressure, forcing turnovers on four of the Lady Tigers' next six possessions and limiting them to just one shot on the other two to prise open a 13-6 advantage seven minutes into the contest. Ibiam scored four points in the run with Khadijah Sessions kicking things off with a pair of free throws and Alaina Coates closing it with a putback.
Savannah State cut it to five, but Bianca Cuevas single-handedly shut the Lady Tigers down in the backcourt with steals on three of the next seven possessions, turning each into an easy basket. The pressure allowed the Gamecocks to built a 30-13 lead midway through the period. A 21-3 run ended the first half and sent the Gamecocks into the locker room with a 60-22 advantage and the fifth-most points in a first half in program history - the most of any half in the Dawn Staley era.
Six Gamecocks finished in double-figure points, including three with at least 20 points. It is South Carolina's first game with three 20-point scorers since Nov. 21, 2003, at Clemson. A'ja Wilson posted a team-high 23 points, the most of her young career, in just 21 minutes. Ibiam was similarly efficient with 21 points in 18 minutes. Coates rounded out the 20-point scorer with 20 and completed her fourth double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. Mitchell finished with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while Aleighsa Welch and Cuevas added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
South Carolina shot 58.5 percent from the field behind 23 assists, including a career-high 10 from Tina Roy. The last Gamecock to hand out at least 10 assists was Samone Kennedy at Florida on Feb. 24, 2008. South Carolina Head Coach Dawn Staley On the how well the offense played today...
"I thought we did a really good job at moving the ball and pushing the ball down the floor in transition. We got early entries into our post players and the defense didn't have a lot of time to set up. I thought we just did a great job at finding our post players. They were posting up and they were finishing. It's something we have not done extremely well the last couple of games, so it was good to see them getting some confidence and getting the ball."

Cann Named Second Team Walter Camp All-American

Article posted by South Carolina Gazette
Shrevport-The postseason accolades continue to pour in for University of South Carolina senior offensive guard A.J. Cann. Tonight, Cann was named to the Walter Camp All-America second-team unit.

Cann, a 6-4, 311-pounder from Bamberg, S.C., has been a four-year starter at guard for the Gamecocks. He has started 50 of the 51 games over the past four seasons, the second-most starts in Carolina history. A two-time captain, Cann helped lead a team that averaged over 33 points and 450 yards per game.

Cann was named to the first-team All-America squad by CBSSportsline.com on Wednesday. Earlier in the week, he garnered first-team All-SEC honors awarded by the league's 14 coaches, was a first-team All-SEC selection by College Sports Madness, and was a second-team All-SEC performer according to the Associated Press.

Cann and his Gamecock teammates will travel to Shreveport to play Miami in the Duck Commander Independence Bowl on Saturday, December 27.