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basketball Edit

A loss for the Gamecocks, but a victory for women's basketball

Sarah Imovbioh handles the ball against a UConn defender
Sarah Imovbioh handles the ball against a UConn defender (Chris Gillespie, Gamecock Central)

Geno Auriemma is coaching his 31st season at Connecticut and Monday night he encountered something for the first time.

Maneuvering to find a parking spot behind Colonial Life Arena about 90 minutes or so before the 7 p.m. tipoff, UConn’s team bus had to delicately weave through thousands of Gamecock fans waiting to get inside the arena for the most hyped regular season game around these parts in decades.

One ardent USC supporter even flashed the Huskies the one-finger salute, Auriemma said.

When the ball was finally tossed into the air, about 18,000 fans had purchased tickets, and they came with the intent of making a lot of noise.

Monday’s 66-54 loss to top-ranked UConn represented a disappointing outcome for the Gamecocks, who were aiming to avenge last season’s 25-point loss to the Huskies in Storrs, CT.

But UConn simply proved too powerful on both ends of the floor, particularly defensively where the active Huskies (9 steals) held USC to 37.7 percent shooting (20-53) and 21 points below their season average while forcing 15 turnovers.

Breanna Stewart (25 points, 3 triples, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks in 40 minutes) is a three-time All-American and three-time Most Outstanding Player in the Final Four because she’s a great player, perhaps the best in the nation.

Gamecock fans saw first-hand why the Huskies have won 60 games in a row, 107 of their last 108 games and the last three national titles.

Even through seeing USC’s 45-game home winning streak halted was disappointing for Gamecocks players, coaches and fans, Monday night was a discernible victory for women’s college basketball.

Through perseverance and sheer will, Dawn Staley has built practically from scratch a Gamecock program that is the envy of many around the country in terms of community support, outreach, attendance and passion surrounding the team.

“I think we do things the right way,” Staley said. “Our fans support us like no other. When you do it this way, people have an appreciation for how we have done it. We have made feel like they are a part of us. They put a lot of energy into coming to our games, not just buying a ticket.”

How many women’s basketball coaches around the country watched Monday night’s game in awe of seeing a sold-out arena with 18,000 fans going bonkers?

Additionally, ESPN sent a small army to Columbia to cover the USC-UConn matchup. The Paul Finebaum Show was here along with SportsCenter and the SEC Network.

If nothing else, the sheer volume of attention given the contest should move the needle in the right direction.

Women’s basketball matters at USC, regardless of whether a segment of the football-crazed fan base is willing to begrudgingly admit it or not. Sadly, at many (most?) Division I schools, the sport is barely a blip on the radar.

“They have a great fan base here,” Auriemma said. “We couldn’t get into the arena tonight. It seemed like they were lined up from here to Atlanta. It was amazing out there. I have never seen anything like it.”

All in all, Monday’s matchup was less of a game and more of an event, even though the final score didn’t impact the conference standings for either team and both could/should end the campaign back in the Final Four in April.

“We knew we were playing a great team, we knew we were playing a team that is almost unbeatable on their home court,” Auriemma said. “They are probably going to go back to the Final Four like they did last year. They are that good. Where they are right now, they are a lot farther ahead than where we were in 1991 when we went to the Final Four for the first time.

“You don’t build these things overnight, no matter what anybody says. The fact they were able to go there (Final Four) last year and are having the kind of year they’re having now, you have to start somewhere and keep making that next step, next step, next step. That is what they are doing.”

We’ll see UConn again inside Colonial Life Arena in two years as both schools have agreed (with a little boost from ESPN, I’m sure) to renew the home-and-home format. The Gamecocks return to Storrs, CT in 2016-17, with the Huskies taking the trip to Columbia in 2017-18.

According to Auriemma, the series is expected to extend well into the future, so look for a lot more games between USC and UConn in the coming years.

Heck, the next matchup in the budding rivalry could come in early April at the Final Four.

Staley prefers the early February date for the game.

“It’s a good game at a good time, as long as we can continue to be competitive,” Staley said. “We can have a sellout and we have two of the top teams in the country. It’s great for women’s basketball. You don’t this type of (attention and hype) in conference play.

“We’re a month from March Madness, so we get to measure ourselves against the top team in the country. Hopefully, we can utilize this game to work on some things that separate us from winning a game like this. Our players really need to continue seeing this type of basketball. It helps you practice better.”

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A'ja Wilson takes a shot over two UConn defenders
A'ja Wilson takes a shot over two UConn defenders (Chris Gillespie, Gamecock Central)
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