Jan 20, 2002
By PETE IACOBELLI
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 8 South Carolina kept its head – and its fans – against Kentucky after a disappointing loss to Tennessee three days earlier.
“It was hard for me to get over it right away,” point guard Christina Ciocan said after the Lady Gamecocks’ 78-49 victory over the Lady Wildcats on Sunday.
There was a question how the Lady Gamecocks (17-2, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) might respond after losing a showdown with the second-ranked Lady Vols 80-61 Thursday night in front of a record-crowd of 12,168.
“But we came back in practice very hard Friday morning and talking about Kentucky,” Ciocan said. “I decided that’s what we had to do, focus on Kentucky.”
That’s what South Carolina’s fans did, too. There were 5,227 in attendance, more than five times the people who normally show up and the fourth-largest crowd in school history.
Lady Gamecocks coach Susan Walvius said it was as gratifying to see this group as the full house from three nights ago.
“The fans that were here today, they were not about Tennessee and a Top 10 game,” she said. “That meant a lot to the young women on our team.”
Jocelyn Penn scored 19 points to lead South Carolina to its largest margin of victory in 11 seasons of SEC play, surpassing two 25-point wins, including a 91-66 defeat of Arkansas on Jan. 13.
Walvius said she reminded her team that despite the Tennessee loss “but we still potentially are in the running for an SEC championship and we can’t slip up at home. … I think we did a pretty decent job with that.”
Kentucky (8-10, 1-5) could not match South Carolina’s speed, accuracy or defensive pressure. The Lady Wildcats had 13 turnovers and made only nine field goals in the first 20 minutes.
SeSe Helm, Kentucky’s leading scorer and sixth in the SEC at nearly 18 points a game, was held to 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting. The Lady Wildcats had their lowest scoring output of the season.
“I thought we did well defensively, they just made some shots they hadn’t made all year,” Kentucky coach Bernadette Mattox said. “That’s what happens with teams that are on a high, you’re ranked, kids are pumped.”
Tatyana Troina finished with 11 points and Shaunzinski Gortman had 10 for South Carolina.
Penn, South Carolina’s leading scorer, again was unstoppable going 8-of-9 from the floor. She said she put aside the Tennessee loss quickly, wanting to get back to winning. “We wanted to go out and do everything that we didn’t do” against Tennessee, Penn said. “I think we accomplished that.”
Rita Adams, who hit 7-of-10 shots for 18 points to lead Kentucky, was the only effective starter against South Carolina.
The other four – LaTonya McDole, Keiko Tate, Helm and Danyelle Payne – combined to go 3-of-22.
Adams didn’t think South Carolina did anything special to shut down the Lady Wildcats, who have lost four straight. “I just think we have to take our time, get collected and make the shots,” Adams said.
Troina had eight points, including two 3-pointers as South Carolina opened a 20-6 lead in the first eight minutes.
When the Lady Wildcats closed to 20-11 on a 3-pointer by Rita Adams and a basket by Shambrica Jones, South Carolina ended the half with a 23-8 surge to lead 43-19.
Gortman, a South Carolina starter who played only three minutes of the first half after aggravating a left hamstring injury, hit a 3-pointer with 17:45 left that stretched the lead to 50-22.
Penn had three straight baskets, Troina hit her third 3-pointer and Christina Ciocan sank a basket to make it 61-29 four minutes later. Kelly Morrone’s 3-pointer with 6:34 left gave the Lady Gamecocks a 73-38 lead.
South Carolina has its most victories in a season since going 17-10 in 1992-93.
