Snake
12-20-2007, 11:35 AM
Women's basketball | Rout erases pain of Mondays nightmare
By CHRIS DEARING - Special to The State
It didn’t take South Carolina long to erase the nightmare of Monday night.
Playing less than 48 hours after suffering the worst loss in school history at second-ranked Connecticut, the Gamecocks rebounded with an 88-41 victory against Alabama A&M Wednesday at the Colonial Center.
“I thought we responded well,” USC coach Susan Walvius said. “Coming off the road and having a tough game at UConn, I thought we had a great practice and were very focused in our shoot-around. I think it showed.
We learned a lot of things in that game.”
Walvius wasn’t the only one happy to get back on the court so quickly.
Junior guard Brionna Dickerson was so ready to put her effort against the Huskies in the past that she wished the Gamecocks could have played on Tuesday after they returned home.
And if anyone epitomized Monday’s 97-39 loss, it was the former Heathwood Hall star. Dickerson, who missed the five previous games with a stress facture in her foot, went 3-for-22 from the field as the Gamecocks shot 21 percent and made 13 field goals. She also contributed four of USC’s 23 turnovers.
“Coming off that game Monday, we came out and worked hard in practice and said we were going to come out and fight and show that we aren’t that team from Monday,” Dickerson said.
The Gamecocks (8-3) matched Monday’s field-goal total in the first half Wednesday and played defense as well as they have all season.
Dickerson scored all 12 of her points in the first half, going 5-of-8 from the field as USC rebounded to shoot 51.6 percent.
Starting point guard Jordan Jones was held scoreless against the Huskies but tied her career high with 20 points against Alabama A&M.
A 20-3 Gamecock run during the final 9:03 of the first half turned a 3-point game into a blowout.
The Gamecocks were 5-for-9 from 3-point range, which opened the middle for post players Ilona Burgrova and Demetress Adams. They combined for 27 points.
“We need to take advantage of our size and experience inside,” Walvius said.
Even though Walvius was glad to play again so quickly, she was worried about the Bulldogs (1-5), who had already played two SEC opponents and was in the contest with Mississippi and Alabama until the late stages.
But those worries were unfounded with the outstanding performance on both ends of the floor.
“We knew Alabama A&M would be a challenge for us, and I thought we came out and controlled tempo and feeding the ball inside,” Walvius said. “It was a great overall balanced effort.”
http://www.thestate.com/gamecocks/story/262749.html
Next up for the Lady Gamecocks:
http://graphics.collegesports.com/graphics/teams/team-logo-scar.gifathttp://graphics.collegesports.com/graphics/teams/team-logo-clem.gif
Clemson Tigers
Day: Saturday
Date: Dec. 22, 2007
Location: Clemson, S.C.
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
By CHRIS DEARING - Special to The State
It didn’t take South Carolina long to erase the nightmare of Monday night.
Playing less than 48 hours after suffering the worst loss in school history at second-ranked Connecticut, the Gamecocks rebounded with an 88-41 victory against Alabama A&M Wednesday at the Colonial Center.
“I thought we responded well,” USC coach Susan Walvius said. “Coming off the road and having a tough game at UConn, I thought we had a great practice and were very focused in our shoot-around. I think it showed.
We learned a lot of things in that game.”
Walvius wasn’t the only one happy to get back on the court so quickly.
Junior guard Brionna Dickerson was so ready to put her effort against the Huskies in the past that she wished the Gamecocks could have played on Tuesday after they returned home.
And if anyone epitomized Monday’s 97-39 loss, it was the former Heathwood Hall star. Dickerson, who missed the five previous games with a stress facture in her foot, went 3-for-22 from the field as the Gamecocks shot 21 percent and made 13 field goals. She also contributed four of USC’s 23 turnovers.
“Coming off that game Monday, we came out and worked hard in practice and said we were going to come out and fight and show that we aren’t that team from Monday,” Dickerson said.
The Gamecocks (8-3) matched Monday’s field-goal total in the first half Wednesday and played defense as well as they have all season.
Dickerson scored all 12 of her points in the first half, going 5-of-8 from the field as USC rebounded to shoot 51.6 percent.
Starting point guard Jordan Jones was held scoreless against the Huskies but tied her career high with 20 points against Alabama A&M.
A 20-3 Gamecock run during the final 9:03 of the first half turned a 3-point game into a blowout.
The Gamecocks were 5-for-9 from 3-point range, which opened the middle for post players Ilona Burgrova and Demetress Adams. They combined for 27 points.
“We need to take advantage of our size and experience inside,” Walvius said.
Even though Walvius was glad to play again so quickly, she was worried about the Bulldogs (1-5), who had already played two SEC opponents and was in the contest with Mississippi and Alabama until the late stages.
But those worries were unfounded with the outstanding performance on both ends of the floor.
“We knew Alabama A&M would be a challenge for us, and I thought we came out and controlled tempo and feeding the ball inside,” Walvius said. “It was a great overall balanced effort.”
http://www.thestate.com/gamecocks/story/262749.html
Next up for the Lady Gamecocks:
http://graphics.collegesports.com/graphics/teams/team-logo-scar.gifathttp://graphics.collegesports.com/graphics/teams/team-logo-clem.gif
Clemson Tigers
Day: Saturday
Date: Dec. 22, 2007
Location: Clemson, S.C.
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET