***2020-21 #4/3 South Carolina (12-1) at #21/19 Mississippi State (8-4) Game Thread***

[ConwayGamecock]

#4/3 South Carolina Gamecocks at #21/19 Mississippi State Bulldogs​

#4/3 SOUTH CAROLINA (12-1, 7-0) AT #21/19 MISSISSIPPI ST (8-4, 3-3)
7 P.M. ET   |  STARKVILLE, MISS.  |  HUMPHREY COLISEUM

South Carolina Game Notes (PDF) | WATCH: ESPN | LISTEN: 1320 AM/107.5 FM in progress | Live Stats

ABOUT THIS GAME

• Tonight's game pits former U.S. Olympic gold medal winning teammates and former colleagues against each other as Dawn Staley and Nikki McCray captured Olympic gold in 1996 and 2000 and shared the South Carolina bench for nine seasons (2008-09 through 2016-17).
• South Carolina is looking for its 24th straight SEC regular-season victory tonight, which would match its longest SEC win streak – Jan. 3, 2016 through Jan. 26, 2017. Including three wins in the 2020 SEC Tournament, the Gamecocks have defeated an SEC opponent 26 straight games.
• A win tonight would be the Gamecocks' 200th SEC regular-season victory with 146 of them having come in their 13 seasons under head coach Dawn Staley.

https://gamecocksonline.com/news/2021/1/27/womens-basketball-no-4-3-gamecocks-head-to-no-21-19-mississippi-state-thursday.aspx

 

[ConwayGamecock]

The Bulldogs have talent, and road SEC games are ALWAYS tough, but they have been scuffling a bit since they entered conference play. They are being out-scored and out-rebounded slightly in the 6 SEC games they have played, and are scoring 20 pts per game fewer than they scored in non-conference games. They are also on a two-game losing streak entering our game Thursday night, including their last game, a 69-41 stinker to Texas A&M in College Station, TX. So this could be an indication of a decline, or it could be a wounded animal of a team waiting for the Gamecocks in Starkville. Hopefully Coach Staley has the team focused and ready to bring their "A" game, just in case......

 

[ConwayGamecock]

Gamecocks trail Mississippi State 11-10 after one period. Boston has only played 3 minutes, but only has 1 foul - don't know what is up with that, but will try to find out.....

OK, Boston is back in the game to start the 2nd Quarter. Strange....

 

[ConwayGamecock]

Gamecocks out-score the Bulldogs 26-12 in the 2nd Period to take the 36-23 lead into halftime. Boston returned to score all 6 pts and 8 rebounds in the 2nd stanza, and the Gamecocks out-rebounded the Bulldogs 15-5 as well. Zia Cooke leads the team with 13 pts.....

 

[ConwayGamecock]

***SEC Games Breaking Update***

Arkansas has just beat Connecticut 90-87 to give the Huskies their first loss on the season. The game was not originally scheduled, but with the Big East dealing with a LOT of canceled games due to Covid, and Arkansas having an opening due to Vanderbilt ending their season, both staffs scheduled the game in Arkansas on a couple days' notice. Chelsea Dungee led the Razorbacks with 37 points!!

 

[ConwayGamecock]

Gamecocks lead after three quarters of ball. The Gamecocks shot poorly out of the halftime break, shooting just 4-16 from the field, but they shot an outstanding 10-11 from the free throw line to keep things fair, and therefore was able to stay with the Bulldog's scoring in the 3rd Period 18-18. The Gamecocks overall have shot 15-17 from the charity stripe for the game, while Mississippi State have shot 4-10 overall from the line.

 

[ConwayGamecock]

The #4/3 South Carolina Gamecocks win over the #21/19 Mississippi State Bulldogs 75-52 to improve to 13-1 and 8-0 in conference play. The win is the Gamecocks' 24th consecutive regular-season SEC victory, which ties their program record set between the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. Mississippi State falls to 8-5 and 3-4 in the SEC.

The Gamecocks were led by Zia Cooke with 19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Victaria Saxton scored 13 pts, 11 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal. Reserve senior Lele Grissett added 11 pts and 5 boards. Aliyah Boston only scored 6 pts but led the team with 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Boston only played 3 minutes of the 1st Period despite having only 1 foul, and played 22 minutes total for the game - it must have been an off day for her.

The Gamecocks shot a total of 19-22 from the FT line, compared to the Bulldogs shooting just 5-15 from the stripe. The difference there heavily impacted the game's outcome....

The BIG news for the Gamecocks' rankings prospects - AP ranked #2 NC State and #3 Connecticut both lost road games to Virginia Tech and Arkansas respectively. As long as the Gamecocks take care of business at home this Sunday versus a strong Alabama, they should see a move up in the rankings Monday.....

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Another nice win.

 

[FurmanCock]

The #4/3 South Carolina Gamecocks win over the #21/19 Mississippi State Bulldogs 75-52 to improve to 13-1 and 8-0 in conference play. The win is the Gamecocks' 24th consecutive regular-season SEC victory, which ties their program record set between the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. Mississippi State falls to 8-5 and 3-4 in the SEC.

The Gamecocks were led by Zia Cooke with 19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Victaria Saxton scored 13 pts, 11 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal. Reserve senior Lele Grissett added 11 pts and 5 boards. Aliyah Boston only scored 6 pts but led the team with 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Boston only played 3 minutes of the 1st Period despite having only 1 foul, and played 22 minutes total for the game - it must have been an off day for her.

The Gamecocks shot a total of 19-22 from the FT line, compared to the Bulldogs shooting just 5-15 from the stripe. The difference there heavily impacted the game's outcome....

The BIG news for the Gamecocks' rankings prospects - AP ranked #2 NC State and #3 Connecticut both lost road games to Virginia Tech and Arkansas respectively. As long as the Gamecocks take care of business at home this Sunday versus a strong Alabama, they should see a move up in the rankings Monday.....

The other part of that is that #1 Louisville plays NC State on Monday, and NC State should have their leading scorer and rebounder back for the game -- she has been absent the last couple of games, including the loss yesterday, due to COVID protocols.  So, we just need to take care of our business because there are some definite ranking opportunities ahead of us.