Lady Gamecocks drop two games in California, fall back below .500 mark
“This is a great trip for us,” Staley said. “Our players needed to see that cohesion, a Final Four team. There’s another style of play and championship behavior.”
The game was just the third ever matchup between the two schools, and the Cardinal have won all three of them. The Gamecocks were defeated by Stanford 78-47 in 2008 at the Colonial Life Arena.
On Sunday, the Gamecocks continued their West Coast road trip with a game against UC Davis. Carolina had a nine-point advantage at halftime but wasn’t able to hold on, as the Aggies upset the Gamecocks by a score of 61-52. The win was the first ever over an SEC opponent for the Aggies (5-1).
UC Davis head coach Sandy Simpson said the team showed resiliency in coming back from a 16-point second-half deficit.
“It was just a matter of not trying to get it all back at one time,” Simpson said. “I asked them to get more aggressive on defense, and we did to a degree. We also wanted to be more determined rebounding and look to attack more on the offensive end.”
Marah Strickland led the scoring on the day for Carolina, tallying 19 points off the bench. Scoring was one of USC’s problems, as the Gamecocks only had two players score in double figures. Ieasia Walker was the other Gamecock to have that many, as she posted 12 points in the defeat.
Carolina was limited as the game drew to a close. The Gamecocks managed only three points in the game’s final four minutes, a 3-pointer from Strickland.
The Aggies used long-distance shooting to down the Gamecocks, scoring 27 of their 61 points via the 3-pointer. Seven different players hit at least one 3-pointer for UC Davis, and Heidi Heintz led the way for the Aggies with 17 points on the day.
Over the two games in their West Coast road trip, the Gamecocks managed only 84 points, a far cry from the 134 that Carolina had in their last two home games, victories over Clemson and Illinois. The Gamecocks fall to 0-3 outside of the Colonial Life Arena on the season, with the other loss coming to Penn State last Sunday.
Carolina will come back home following the two losses. The Gamecocks face off against Charleston Southern on Wednesday for an early morning contest. Tip-off will be at 11 a.m.