WBB: Gamecocks steal one from Texas A&M 70-63
South Carolina defeated Texas A&M 70-63 in College Station, Texas, to stay unbeaten. A'ja Wilson had 27 points and 10 rebounds.
Just like the first game between the two teams, this game came down to the final minutes. But unlike the first game, South Carolina made its free throws to keep Texas A&M at bay.
Texas A&M outscored South Carolina 19-8 in the second quarter to lead 31-25 at halftime. Texas A&M scored 17 straight points and led by as many as 10 in the period. But South Carolina finished the quarter strong and carried that momentum into the third quarter.
Alaina Coates opened the third quarter with a layup, and then Tiffany Mitchell converted a three-point play. Courtney Walker answered with a three-point play, but Mitchell fed Khadijah Sessions for a layup and turned a steal into a layup to tie the game at 34.
For the next 10 minutes the teams traded baskets in a back-and-forth game. The Gamecocks led 50-47 going into the fourth quarter, but the Aggies scored the first seven points of the frame to take a 54-50 lead. Then the Gamecocks' stars took control.
Wilson made a basket to end the Aggie run, and then Mitchell reminded everyone why she is the two-time SEC Player of the Year. She attacked the rim, drawing the foul and making both free throws. Then, with a defender draped over her, she gave the Gamecocks the lead with a pull-up jumper. Coates added a layup, and then Mitchell fed Sessions for a transition layup to cap the 10-0 run.
As the clocked ticked down, Texas A&M had to foul. In the first meeting, South Carolina was just 10-18 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, allowing Texas A&M to come back and tie the game. Sunday evening, South Carolina made sure there would be no need for heroics.
Sessions made two free throws with under a minute to play. After a long three by Courtney Williams, Mitchell was fouled and made both. Williams and Jordan Jones both missed threes for Texas A&M, but Tina Roy fumbled the second rebound out of bounds. She made up for the mistake by stealing the inbounds pass with 14 seconds to play. Roy was fouled, and made 1-2 free throws. Her miss was the only miss in the fourth quarter for South Carolina.
The Gamecocks shot 7-8 from the line in the fourth, and 20-25 for the game. They also limited the jump-shooting Aggies to just six attempts.
Wilson notched her tenth double-double of the season, and did most of her scoring damage in the first half. She and Coates worked a deadly high-low game that repeatedly got open shots for both players. Coates finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds for her SEC-leading eleventh double-double. She also had a career-high six assists to lead the Gamecocks, and was responsible for setting up many of Wilson's buckets.
But Mitchell was the star of the game. She did not shoot well in the first half, but didn't let that affect her. She scored nine points in the fourth quarter, assisted on another basket, and of her three misses, the Gamecocks scored off two. She also grabbed three steals and played tough defense down the stretch.
"I just picked it up on the defensive end and defense turned into offense," Mitchell said. "We know how to execute down the stretch. We make big plays and we have good players on this team who can make big shots."
Sessions added ten points for South Carolina. Roy was the only other player to score. She had one point on a free throw at the end of the game.
