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The South Carolina Gamecocks hit the road to Clemson Thursday night for a rivalry tilt against the Tigers, coming away with a 66-36 victory and 3-0 record.
The first half got off to a bit of a sloppy start, with coach Dawn Staley calling a timeout just a few minutes in to rally the troops after an early 4-2 Clemson lead. The Gamecocks responded, thanks mostly to the efforts of Lindsey Spann, who drained a couple 3-pointers to spark the offense. After going on a 16-0 run, South Carolina never looked back: the Gamecocks brought a 37-11 lead to the locker room, and the Tigers only started chipping into the deficit when South Carolina’s reserves started to come off the bench in the fourth quarter.
Spann was the star of the show, leading all scorers with 20 points and making six of her seven 3-point attempts in a dominant display of sharp-shooting. A’ja Wilson logged her third straight double-double, finishing with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and adding three blocks. Together, the dynamic duo was far too much for Clemson, who simply didn’t have players capable of guarding them. Otherwise, the Gamecocks were a bit quiet offensively: Ty Harris, the hero of the Maryland game, logged just one point and four assists. Off the bench, LeLe Grissett added 10 points, while Mikiah Herbet Harrigan chipped in seven.
Defensively, South Carolina put on a clinic. Clemson shot just 25% from the field, and turned it over 17 times as the Gamecocks racked up six steals and five blocks. The Tigers, also a defense-oriented squad, came away with five steals and seven blocks of their own. If there were anything else to nitpick, it’s likely the Gamecocks’ performance at the free-throw line: South Carolina made just 41% of its foul shots, going 7-for-17 from the charity stripe.
The Gamecocks return to Columbia Sunday, hosting Wofford at 3 p.m. But for now, let’s enjoy the fact South Carolina has now won eight in a row against the Tigers, the longest such streak by either team in the series.