What lessons South Carolina women’s basketball learned in narrow victory vs Georgia

COLUMBIA — South Carolina women’s basketball hasn’t had to scratch and claw in many of its victories this season.

The ones they did came against tough teams like North Carolina, LSU and Tennessee. On Sunday, with bottom-of-the-SEC Georgia in town, the Gamecocks (25-0, 12-0 SEC) were expected to roll.

Instead, with ESPN’s “College GameDay” in town and the fourth sell-out crowd of South Carolina’s season, it was the Bulldogs (11-14, 2-10) who entered with the energy and momentum usually expected of the nation’s No. 1 team.

Thanks to a 21-point second-half advantage, the Gamecocks fought their way to a 70-56 win, but they have struggled in two straight games, and coach Dawn Staley said it was their time for a slump.

“Some teams have gone through this all season long,” she said. “For us, it’s our turn. We don’t want it to be, but it’s our turn to work through the next step of continuing to improve on things.”

Even while the Gamecocks work through a miniature skid, however, they’re still breaking records. The win against Georgia was their 43rd consecutive regular-season SEC victory, breaking a record held by Tennessee. They also became the first SEC program to start 25-0 in back-to-back seasons.

“We’ve been fortunate that we learn lessons through winning,” Staley said. “You don’t want to take a loss and learn a lesson. Lessons are right there in front of us — we just have to do a better job of executing.”

One lesson she emphasized to her team on Sunday: An open shot isn’t always a good shot.

The Gamecocks forced 17 3-point attempts before halftime, making just six and digging a seven-point deficit. They took only eight shots within the arc in the half, a trend they worked to reverse after the break.

“Our coaches told us to be smart, be disciplined,” freshman guard MiLaysia Fulwiley said. “We were just going up there and making things harder than they were supposed to be. Once we settled down and did what Coach wanted us to do, I feel like we started to make great plays.”

Staley said South Carolina moved the ball better in the second half, allowing the offense to find soft spots in Georgia’s defense, especially for senior center Kamilla Cardoso, who had plenty of room to work in the second half and recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds. She finished the game with team highs with 16 points, 16 rebounds and tying for five assists. Sophomore forward Chloe Kitts was able to work off Cardoso’s success, adding 10 of her 12 points in the half.

“(Cardoso) was being super aggressive,” Kitts said. “She was using her moves we work on in practice. Five assists — she’s not just worried about herself, she likes playing with her teammates.”

The Gamecocks also switched up the defensive strategy against Georgia fifth-year forward Javyn Nicholson. After she went for 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the first half, Staley opted to roll with Cardoso against Nicholson instead of Kitts.

The added length Cardoso brought on defense helped slow Nicholson, who scored just nine points on 3-of-10 shooting in the second half. She finished the game with a season-high 27 points and 12 rebounds.

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The Gamecocks whittled their magic number to 1; they can clinch a share of the SEC title and the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament with a win Wednesday at home against Alabama.

South Carolina has the luxury of possessing talent that allows wins like Sunday’s, when it needs a comeback to win a game in which it struggled early. With a team full of new starters after roster turnover from last season, Staley said that would make an SEC title a little sweeter.

“It’s a work in progress,” she said. “We’ve got to get it together because it just gets tougher and tougher as we continue down this road, down the end of the season into the postseason.”