TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – After helping to prepare his teammates in the last game in South Carolina, it was the turn of Destanni Henderson to stand out.
Henderson had 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists to lead Gamecocks from fifth place in the 77-60 victory over Alabama on Monday night.
“She pressed the pace and when she is playing fast and downhill, she is a strong guard,” said South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. “I mean, there were times (tonight) when she is playing spectacularly. … It was great to see it start. “
Henderson, who scored just two points with nine assists against Florida last Thursday, finished just three points and a rebound less than equaling his career record against Alabama.
Crimson Tide reduced the deficit to eight points at the end of the third quarter, but Zia Cooke scored nine of his 18 points during the final 11 minutes to keep the Gamecocks (7-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) in almost complete control of the stretch. .
Staley said Cooke appeared to have a hard time adjusting to the Nike ball during the first three quarters on Monday night. Gamecocks usually work with a Wilson ball, which Staley said requires a slightly different grip.
Cooke and the Gamecocks also struggled to contain Alabama veteran Jordan Lewis, who set his career record with 28 points for Crimson Tide (8-1, 1-1), surpassing his previous best score of 27 against Missouri in Thursday.
“We didn’t stop it,” said Staley. “We just slowed her down and made her pass out a little bit more than she was doing in the third quarter. So there are glimpses of it, a really good move. We know that, in order to achieve what we are trying to achieve, it has to be 90 percent of the game or else people will win it ”.
Lewis did most of his damage in the third quarter, when he scored 13 points. It seemed that all of Alabama’s offensive possessions during that stretch began and ended with the veteran entering the basket.
“We just need to move on,” Alabama coach Kristy Curry said after the team’s first loss of the season. “It was no adjustment. It was just our children starting to see that I need to be me. “
South Carolina’s starting team was an average 1.6 inches taller than their Crimson Tide counterparts, and that difference seemed decisive, especially in the first half.
In fact, South Carolina had more rebounds in attack (26) than Crimson Tide could pull in defense (24), giving Gamecocks a decisive 55-31 overall advantage.
This allowed Gamecocks to score twice as many second chance points (22) as Alabama (11).
“I’m not really focusing on today,” said Staley. “I’m looking at the big picture. … We are looking ahead because we know that if we stay where we are today, we will leave the SEC tournament early and we will not have a chance to defend our regular season championship at the SEC. “
BIG PICTURE
South Carolina: The Gamecocks have now defeated four consecutive opponents by at least 16 points, since the team lost eight points to No. 3 NC State on December 3.
Alabama: Monday’s defeat was the first time Crimson Tide failed to score at least 74 points this season.
NEXT
South Carolina hosts Georgia on Thursday night. Gamecocks have not dropped a game for Bulldogs since the 2012-13 campaign.
Alabama hosts LSU on Thursday. Crimson Tide have lost their last three games against Tigers since the 2017-18 season.