COLOMBIA, SC – North Carolina coach Wes Moore channeled twice Super Bowl winner Bill Parcells after Wolfpack’s historic victory over No. 1 South Carolina.
Raina Perez hit a 3 point go-ahead with 3:07 remaining and Kayla Jones had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Wolfpack, ranked eighth, ended the Gamecocks’ 29-game streak with a 54-46 win on Thursday night -market.
Moore, like his players, was happy with the victory in the first match. But it is too early for anyone to think that Wolfpack can now survive during the season.
“Parcells used to talk about ‘Big game, next game,'” said Moore. “We will have to make sure that we are ready to play on Sunday. But we will enjoy this for about 24 hours. “
There was so much to enjoy.
Along with Jones, Jakia Brown-Turner made a double-double with 11 points and 12 bags. And during the critical time, Wolfpack beat South Carolina 11-2 in the last five minutes.
Wolfpack (3-0) defeated a top-ranked opponent for the first time since Duke’s elimination at the 2007 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
South Carolina (3-1) lost for the first time since falling to Indiana on November 28, 2019, and the first time at home since the 68-64 loss to the State of Mississippi at the end of the regular season ago two seasons.
Gamecocks were freezing all the time, shooting 28% of the field.
“In my 21 years (as a coach), I never felt like during the game,” said South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. “Uncoachable. Indomitable. Selfish game. “
Elissa Cunane added 14 points, five rebounds and four blocks, and Perez finished with 11 points.
Cunane made two free kicks to put Wolfpack ahead 48-44 with less than two minutes left. But Zia Cooke’s theft and layup tied South Carolina with a basket 53.4 seconds from the end. After a time limit, Wolfpack threw the ball around a Jones wide open for a 3-point basket.
When LeLe Grissett was called in for a charge in possession of the next ball, the celebration began 15 seconds from the end.
Cooke and Laeticia Amihere led the Gamecocks with 11 points each. Amihere also had 15 rebounds.
Jones believes that the victory of the state of North Carolina shows that it will be a team to be considered this season. “I feel it is a great victory,” she said. “I thought we could compete with anyone.”
Both teams remained in defense in the first half, making the fight defensive to score points.
Wolfpack hit 25%, but was better than South Carolina, who made 8 of 37 and missed 14 consecutive shots.
Moore said there is a lot to clean up, especially in the attack. But he is happy to be able to teach these lessons after a victory forever.
“It’s not March,” he said. “But it is a game that we can definitely build on.”
THE GREAT IMAGE
State of North Carolina: The Wolfpack packaged the medium against the escape Gamecocks and worked while they kept South Carolina in a low season of 28% shooting.
South Carolina: Gamecocks have been thoroughly tested in their last three ball games and still need to establish themselves as the dominant and unforgiving team they were a year ago.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
South Carolina has been at the top of the last 12 AP polls since last season. That race will end next week with this defeat. Expect the state of North Carolina, as long as they slip up in their next game on Sunday, to move up the ranks.
ANTHEM ACTIONS
As in the debut, 10 of the 11 South Carolina players sat during the national anthem to support the fight against racial injustice. Gamecocks joined 10 members of Wolfpack, who knelt next to each other while the song was played.
HALFTIME TALK
In the break, when South Carolina had hit just 2 of 19 in the second quarter (10.5%), Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley, a former All-American player and national of the year in Virginia, told them that that was unacceptable. “I told our team that I could be blindfolded and shoot better than 10%,” she said.
NEXT
North Carolina State: hosts Coastal Carolina on Sunday.
South Carolina: In the 23rd state of Iowa on Sunday.