Gamecock veterans earn the spotlight in South Carolina’s Top 5 win over NC State
Dawn Staley opted to go with experience in No. 1 South Carolina’s 66-57 win over No. 5 N.C. State on Tuesday.
The Gamecocks’ head women’s basketball coach also noticed Wolfpack head coach Wes Moore was playing his veterans, and she called back to a message Temple Hall of Fame coach John Chaney told her.
“Until the sideline down there puts in their substitutions or their end of the bench, that’s when you do it. If they have them in, you’re playing the game,” Staley recalled. “I thought we did that pretty good today.”
South Carolina, returning every member of last year’s Final Four team, went with the most experienced members of its roster against the Wolfpack, and the veterans’ late-game poise and production showed why.
Veterans logged a majority of the minutes in South Carolina’s victory over N.C. State. Starters Zia Cooke (36 minutes), Brea Beal (34), Destanni Henderson (27) and Aliyah Boston (25) led the way, with junior Laeticia Amihere playing 23 minutes off the bench.
“You gotta go with the known and kind of leave the unknown alone in these moments,” Staley said. “Felt very comfortable with who we had on the floor. We short-pitched it in the third and fourth quarters, and at this point, our players know we’ve gotta win the game.”
The Gamecocks never trailed N.C. State in Reynolds Coliseum, but the Wolfpack brought the game within one point during the third quarter. That’s when Cooke and Amihere headed a 10-3 run at the end of the third to surge South Carolina to a 47-39 lead at the start of the fourth.
The Gamecocks maintained their dominance down the stretch, outscoring N.C. State 19-18 in the final 10 minutes.
Cooke, the Gamecocks’ leading scorer last season, led the way once again with 17 points after sitting out last week’s exhibition over Benedict with an ankle injury. Henderson scored 14, including 7 points in the final quarter.
“We were very prepared for this game, whether we thought it was easy or hard,” Henderson said. “We just wanted to come in with a great mindset, just trust each other and play hard throughout four quarters.”
Syracuse transfer Kamilla Cardoso, who played for 16 minutes, saw the most time of the Gamecocks’ heralded newcomers. Raven Johnson (7 minutes) and Bree Hall (4) were the only two freshmen to come off the bench in Reynolds Coliseum. Neither scored, and Johnson was the only one to take a shot.
Staley said the most surprising part of the N.C. State game was how the newcomers reacted to the intense environment of the road contest, but she trusts they’ll continue to learn with every experience.
“Coming in here, it’s hard to simulate,” Staley said. “In practice, you can talk about it, but when the crowd gets going and you’re not calling the right play calls, it just snowballs, especially with a young point guard like Raven. But she’ll grow. All of our young players will grow, not necessarily from playing the game, but just being around this environment.”
Henderson said she was used to loud gyms, and the Gamecocks’ experienced point guard didn’t seem fazed by the raucous atmosphere of the top-five season opener.
“We really just got to make sure that we just communicate with each other when we’re on the floor,” Henderson said. “Just staying locked in and just knowing the game plan and what we need to execute to win a ballgame.”
South Carolina travels for another road game against South Dakota this Friday in Sioux Falls on Friday at 7 p.m. before hosting its first regular-season home game against Clemson next Wednesday. The Gamecocks’ game with South Dakota will be televised on ESPN News.
This story was originally published November 9, 2021 at 9:43 PM with the headline "Gamecock veterans earn the spotlight in South Carolina’s Top 5 win over NC State."
