The South Carolina women’s basketball team has won its sixth SEC basketball tournament championship in the past seven years, with a 67-62 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, SC.
The game was historic. It was the first time that two black coaches, Dawn Staley and Joni Taylor, had met for the SEC Tournament Championship. Staley and Taylor consider themselves “extended family” because Taylor’s husband, Darius, is a former technical assistant to Staley. Sunday was also Taylor’s birthday.
Georgia led most of the first half before South Carolina tied 35-35 with Zia Cook’s three-point shot on the buzzer. The Gamecocks scored a basket to take the lead with 3:08 remaining in the third quarter and went on a 9-0 run to get away from the Bulldogs.
During the race, Brea Beal won a free throw by running the court, then ran again for a tray. She also helped to force a turnaround and then made a pitch to end the quarter. Beal had just seven points, but combined with four rebounds, three blocks and a strong defense, she made a big contribution to the result. All but one of South Carolina’s 15 points in the fourth quarter were scored by Destanni Henderson (six) or Aliyah Boston (eight). Victoria Saxton had another point.
The Bulldogs managed to get close in the end, but Carolina managed to make great plays and hit 18-25 free throws to seal the victory. South Carolina has won 14 times in a row against Georgia.
The championship game at times looked like a basketball fight instead of basketball, as the two teams played in a very physical way. A total of 33 fouls were scored in the game. This was a new style of play for South Carolina, which struggled to find its identity during the regular season. At some points during this season, Gamecocks were criticized for playing too softly and just wanting to be friends with everyone, but everything changed during the tournament. During the three games of the tournament, the Gamecock women played with a different attitude and an unpleasant streak, playing physical and aggressive basketball.
Boston talked about the big change in Gamecocks’ style of play.
“Yes, in the Alabama game, I would say that the coach, she told us that good teams cannot win championships. They can’t even win SEC championships. I think that kind of triggered it a little bit. We said, ‘You know what, guys, we need to bring that energy into the whole game’. The teams will be physical. We know that they will come after us. We just have to stay strong and be ready for it, ”said Boston.
After the game, when Staley was asked about her team’s new mental stamina, she said, “I mean, you just don’t get rid of kindness on a weekend (smiling). Evil is a lifestyle, actually. Cool, unpleasant, this balance of doing it that way. I am very happy to see that it is there, as in our players. As coaches, we have to take this away from them or else they will be comfortable in their skin. That’s not how the world works, because most of the time, nice people end up maybe not last, but certainly not first. “
Runner-up Gamecocks entered the tournament as an underdog for the first time this season, after losing to Texas A&M last week in the regular season. The Gamecocks (22-4), twice this season the number one team in the country, have fought down along the straight, with three defeats in their last seven games. South Carolina was able to change things in an important way in the SEC Tournament, defeating nationally ranked teams along the way. He used a great run at the start to defeat Alabama on his way to a 75-63 victory. In the semifinal game, Carolina took her revenge for a loss in the regular season in Tennessee, obtaining a sequence of 31 consecutive wins in the SEC game, with a physical victory by 67-52 over Lady Vols.
The Lady Bulldogs advanced to the championship game for the first time since 2004, passing through Kentucky, 78-66, in the quarterfinals and then managed to overcome the turnaround of the tournament by overcoming second place in the ranking and the champion of the season regular, Texas A&M, 74-68, in the semifinals.
The Boston MVP tournament ended with 27 points (one of his career record), 10 rebounds and four blocks. For the tournament, she averaged 19.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks, when shooting 66% of the ground and 81% in free throws.
“My teammates did a great job of finding the ball for me. I had to be strong with my submissions, ”said Boston. “As the game progressed, it was easier.”
“Aliyah Boston was huge today. She has to be dominant so that we can win this type of game, ”said Staley. “They just covered it. We look forward to individual coverage and she made them pay. “
Henderson intensified in the second half, scoring 12 of his 18 points after the break. Henderson also received nine rebounds, in addition to his three assists and a block, securing a spot on the All-Tournament team for the second consecutive season.
Cooke scored eight points in the title game and finished with an average of 15.7 points per game in the event and also won prizes in all tournaments.
The rest of the All-Tournament team included Maya Caldwell and Jenna Staiti from Georgia, and Rhyne Howard from Kentucky.
Both teams now await the NCAA tournament selection show on March 15 at 7 pm on ESPN. South Carolina is projected to be the number 1 seed in the tournament.