FINAL: South Carolina Blowsout No. 11 UConn In 83-65 Win
While Super Bowl 58 will take place in just a couple of hours, most South Carolina Gamecock fans were looking forward to the showdown between Dawn Staley's team and the No. 11 UConn Huskies. While the matchup got well-deserved hype, the game itself wasn't close.
At the start of the game, both teams struggled to find consistency on the offensive end due to the lack of open shots and likely some nerves. However, the Gamecocks would get out to an early eight-point lead thanks to Te-Hina Paopao's marksmen-like three-point shooting ability and Ashlyn Watkins taking advantage of the sagging UConn defense by hitting multiple mid-range jumpers. Watkins also made her presence felt early defensively, registering two massive first-half blocks and holding the Huskies' star forward, Aaliyah Edwards, to just two points when matched up against her.
In the second quarter, Paopao continued to have the hot hand, knocking down two more trey's and giving herself a team-leading sixteen points in the first half. After seeing her frontcourt mate knock down several midrange jumpers, Chloe Kitts decided to get in on the fun herself, hitting two of her own and converting on a contested layup to spead UConn's defense even more thin. With both teams running out of steam due to their short rotations, South Carolina went to the locker room with a 14-point halftime advantage.
In the third quarter, the Gamecocks began to separate themselves from the Huskies, as while Geno Auriemma's team began to run on fumes and lean heavily on Edwards to pick themselves up, Carolina's Raven Johnson stomped on the proverbial gas pedal. Not taking any rest outside of the timeouts in the period, the Atlanta native pushed the tempo in transition and made UConn's defense pay, scoring 8 points and grabbing 6 rebounds, giving her a double-double on the afternoon.
In the fourth quarter, things got a little bit sloppy for South Carolina, who played like they knew the game was out of reach, but it didn't matter much in the end. It's the Gamecocks' 54th-straight home victory and Dawn's 597th career win as a head coach. Carolina will play again this Thursday in Knoxville when they take on the Tennessee Lady Vols.
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