Another SEC road game that started out ugly for the Gamecocks, that turned into a straight route win, as the Gamecocks beat Kentucky 95-66 to improve to 17-0, 5-0.
Kentucky (8-9, 0-5) came into the game outside of the top 100 in most all offensive or defensive categories. But this is a SEC rivalry series for both teams: Kentucky and South Carolina play each other twice every year, moreso than against other SEC teams (perhaps Georgia too), and it has been a heated rivalry going back to the Matthew Mitchell days - even before Mississippi State and Missouri rose up to get the Gamecocks' ire.
But the Wildcats opened up very strong and aggressive on both ends of the court: the Gamecocks opened at a torrid pace, shooting for 64% from the field, but the Wildcats stayed close, only behind by 3 points 20-17 at the end of the 1st Period.
They would stay on the Gamecocks' heels through the next 2 periods - the Gamecocks out-scored the Wildcats in each quarter, but only by meager margins - 17-16 in the 2nd, and 22-18 in the 3rd. There were large scoring runs for both teams: after a short jumper from Cardoso extended the Gamecocks lead to 7 20-13 late in the 1st Period, the Wildcats went on a 16-0 run to take the lead 29-20 at the 7-minute mark of the 2nd Period.
The Kentucky lead grew to 10 pts 31-21 with 5 minutes to play in the 1st half, until the Gamecocks responded with a 16-0 run of their own, to reclaim the lead 37-31 with mere seconds left in the half. UK would score in the final second and the Gamecocks led in a tight battle 37-33 at the halftime.
The Gamecocks shot 57% in the 1st half, so they certainly were shooting better than in their previous game at Mississippi State. But the Wildcats were relentless, and continued to attack behind the scoring of Maddie Scherr and Jada Walker, who had 28 of Kentucky's 33 1st half points on 12-19 shooting. The Gamecocks likewise got the majority of their scoring before half from Boston and Cooke, who combined to shoot 12-18 themselves for 28 of their team's 37 total pts. But the 1st half was very contentious, and while the Gamecocks lead the league in rebounds per game, and the Wildcats are nowhere close to doing so, rebounds were tied at the half, 16-16, and 2nd chance points also tied at 8-8.
In the 2nd half, the Gamecocks turned up the offensive heat: in the 3rd Period, they shot 60% 6-10 from the field, while holding the Wildcats to 38.1% shooting. But they only out-scored Kentucky 22-18, due to the Wildcats getting that 38.1% shooting by shooting 8-21, more than doubling the Gamecocks' shot attempts for the quarter. The Gamecocks had 4 turnovers in the period that hamstrung their offensive output. The Wildcats meanwhile were called for fouls that sent the Gamecocks to the free throw line 10 times, of which they converted on 9 of them.
In the 4th Period, the game was blown open, disguising just how fiercely competitive it was. The Gamecocks out-scored the Wildcats 36-15 in the final stanza, shooting 13-17 (76.5%) and 10-13 (76.9%) from the charity stripe, as Kentucky continued to foul to try to slow down the Gamecock scoring. Overall in the 2nd half, South Carolina out-scored Kentucky 58-33, shooting 19-27 (70.4%) from the field, and 19-23 (82.6%) from the line.
Boston led the Gamecocks with 21 pts on 9-11 shooting, with 11 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 3 assists. Cooke added 20 pts on 8-14 shooting, with 3 assists and 2 rebounds. Cardoso added in 12 pts on 5-8 shooting, with 4 rebounds, and Amihere chipped in 11 pts on 3-7 shooting, with 3 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Red-shirt Freshman PG Raven Johnson continues to show strong improvement in her game, coming off the bench to add 9 pts on 4-4 shooting, with a team-leading 7 assists and 3 steals....
