No. 4 South Carolina, Cooke power after Alabama 87-63

Pete Iacobelli, sports editor at Ap

Updated

17:22 CST, Sunday, January 31, 2021

COLOMBIA, SC (AP) – South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has been working hard to make gunner Zia Cooke turn the page when things don’t go her way.

It was evident from Cooke’s game against Alabama that the message was conveyed.

Cooke had 12 of his 21 points in the third quarter to lead No. 4 South Carolina with an 87-63 victory over Alabama on Sunday.

Cooke, who averaged almost 16 points per game, suffered two fouls in the first four minutes of the game and spent much of the first half on the bench.

After Cooke took the floor for the past two quarters, she was physically refreshed and mentally ready to take over.

“I feel like I’m just starting to mature and realize what I need to do out there,” said Cooke. “It is just the beginning and I hope I can continue to turn the page.”

Cooke led the way in a 15-5 wave to start the third quarter for South Carolina (14-1, 9-0 Southeastern Conference), which won its 18th consecutive victory in Alabama and 28th consecutive in the Southeastern Conference competition.

Staley was happy that Cooke, the 1.5 meter fast guard, was prepared to attack with the Gamecocks losing 41 to 40 in the interval.

“Zia loves to play basketball,” said Staley. “When she came back, she had a ton of energy.”

Aliyah Boston started the decisive straight with a starting tray. Soon after, Cooke hit a 3-point and a pair of driving layups while South Carolina advanced 51-46. When Cooke added three more a minute later, the Gamecocks were at 58-46 and would not be captured.

“It’s just a fluid thing for me,” Cooke explained about his shot.

Alabama (12-4, 5-4) seemed for a time that it was ready to end its long losing streak for the Gamecocks, who lost to Crimson Tide in 2008 before the arrival of coach Dawn Staley.

This time, however, Crimson Tide took advantage of open kicks and poor defense near the end of the first half to lead 41-40 – only the fourth time this season South Carolina lost in the interval.

Lewis hit a pair of 3s and Abrams another from a long distance, with Alabama opening up a 16-8 lead. After South Carolina recovered to open a seven-point lead, Walker hit a pair of 3s and Destiny Rice opened up an open track to put Crimson Tide ahead.

Cooke and Boston were just 3 of 11 shots in the first two quarters and South Carolina missed 11 of their 15 final shots in the second period.

Things changed after the break, when Cooke took South Carolina to its 11th consecutive victory since its only loss, a 54-46 loss to the 2nd state of North Carolina on December 3.

Jordan Lewis led Alabama with 19 points, while Jasmine Walker had 15 before dropping out.

Alabama coach Kristy Curry thought her team played strong, but the kicks that fell early did not happen in the last two quarters.

“If our children can continue the course,” she said. “We are right where we want to be.”

The Gamecocks had three others with double-digit scores: Destanni Henderson had 14 points, Brea Beal had 11 and Victaria Saxton 10.

Henderson also made seven assists and six rebounds.

Boston posted his second consecutive game with a single digit score, the 14.2-point player getting just 6 points out of 2 out of 10 shots. Boston 6-5 had a team with 13 rebounds, six assists and three blocks.

THE GREAT IMAGE

Alabama: Crimson Tide had a good performance this season – their 5-3 SEC start in this game was the best since 1997-98 – and had a reliable score on Lewis and Jasmine Walker. But, like many teams, they lack the strength to stay with South Carolina for four quarters.

South Carolina: Expect Gamecocks to come closer to the top in the next rankings. Along with two more decisive SEC victories this week, South Carolina is expected to benefit from the defeats of North Carolina’s 2nd state and 3rd UConn.

CHANEY TRIBUTE

The South Carolina pre-game included a moment of silence and a video tribute to the late Temple coach, John Chaney, who trained at school while Dawn Staley began her university career with Owls. Staley wore a T-shirt from one of his former Temple assistants on Sunday with Chaney’s words: “Winning is an attitude.”

DEFENSIVE TURNAROUND

Alabama hit 16 of 32 shots for 41 points in the first two quarters. That changed a lot after the break, as Crimson Tide scored just 8 of 34 field goals for 22 points in the last 20 minutes.

NEXT

Alabama faces its third consecutive opponent when it faces Georgia number 22 on Thursday night.

South Carolina goes to Auburn on Thursday night.

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