Gamecocks hold off Missouri for 64-54 victory in physical battle

Three weeks after falling short in a chippy, physical matchup against the No. 11 Missouri Tigers, the No. 9 South Carolina Gamecocks gave as good as they got in a 64-54 victory in Columbia on Sunday night.

Things got heated once again between the two teams, with South Carolina’s Alexis Jennings and Missouri’s Kayla Michael fight over a rebound igniting players from both teams to rush in after the whistle. Two Tigers reserves, Jordan Roundtree and Nadia Green, were subsequently ejected for coming off the bench to join the brawl:

A’ja Wilson, hampered by foul trouble and largely unable to participate in the Gamecocks’ earlier loss to Missouri, was instead the hero. When South Carolina lost a 48-41 lead in the fourth quarter, Wilson’s go-ahead basket put the Gamecocks (18-3, 7-2 SEC) back on track, and Jennings helped seal the victory with a couple late hoops of her own. Wilson notched another double-double, scoring 15 points to go with 15 rebounds, and Ty Harris continued her strong play with 19 points to lead all scorers.

Up next: Big, big, BIG game against No. 1 UConn at 7 p.m. on Thursday.