SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Heading into Tuesday’s NCAA women’s basketball tournament second-round game, Oregon State was the nation’s top 3-point shooting team. South Carolina took that away.
Oregon State’s attack was noted for its crisp ball movement. South Carolina disrupted that.
Oregon State’s length and height rivaled any team in the country. South Carolina overwhelmed that.
Everything the No. 8 seed Beavers did well, the No. 1 seed Gamecocks shut down en route to a dominant 59-42 victory and the program’s seventh consecutive berth into the Sweet 16.
Sophomore forward Aliyah Boston led South Carolina with 19 points, while junior guard Destanni Henderson added a dozen and sophomore guard Zia Cooke tallied 10 points, five rebounds and two assists.
But it was really the defense that shined brightest for the Gamecocks. The Beavers entered the contest shooting 45.8% from the field, a top-20 mark in the nation. They shot just 31.6% against the Gamecocks, their second-worst mark of the year.
Oregon State also entered the game leading the nation in 3-point percentage at 41.5%. They shot just 15.8% from distance Tuesday. They turned the ball over 13 times and looked consistently flustered by South Carolina's pressure.
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3 OBSERVATIONS
1. Competitive early
Despite the lopsided final score, the game was actually close to start, as both teams began with a deliberate pace and some trouble shooting the ball. South Carolina made just two of its first 11 shots, while Oregon State was 3 of 9.
Just about the only Gamecock who could get anything going was Boston, who was simply dominant in the low post. OSU’s second-leading scorer and top rebounder, Taylor Jones, picked up two quick fouls trying to defend her, and her 6-foot-9 replacement, Jelena Mitrovic, had no more luck. By the end of the first quarter, Boston had eight points and the score was a tight 14-13.
2. Second-quarter breakaway
Into the next quarter, things remained tight to start. But as the Gamecocks started to ratchet up the defensive pressure, Oregon State started getting sloppy.
After turning the ball over just twice in the opening quarter, OSU coughed up seven giveaways in the second. And South Carolina, which didn’t get any points off turnovers in the first quarter, were able to translate the second-quarter mistakes into nine points off turnovers.
On top of that, coach Dawn Staley was able to rest Boston, taking her out of the game shortly before the second media timeout. With their star on the bench, the Gamecocks kept the pressure up, reeling off an 11-2 run to take a 30-18 advantage into the halftime break.
3. Not just points
While Henderson, Cooke and Boston were the only Gamecocks to reach double figures in scoring, they were far from the only impactful players on the floor. Their fellow starters, junior forward Victaria Saxton and sophomore guard Brea Beal, contributed in other ways. Saxton tallied five blocks and three steals, while Beal had a team-high 11 rebounds, two steals and a block.
Both Beal and Saxton got their first points of the game in the third quarter, as South Carolina picked up where it had left off going into halftime and got a 13-3 run to fully open the rout.
Sophomore forward Laeticia Amihere, coming off the bench, had a productive night as well, tallying eight points and nine rebounds.
