No. 1 South Carolina holds off No. 21 Gonzaga 79-72

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Destanni Henderson scored a career-high 23 factors and Zia Cooke added 16 to assist No. 1 South Carolina high 21st-ranked Gonzaga 79-72 on Sunday within the Unhealthy Boy Mowers Crossover Basic.

It was the second straight sport that the Gamecocks confronted a tricky problem from their opponent.

Henderson earned event MVP honors as she scored 19 factors and had 9 rebounds within the opening spherical win over South Dakota.

Towards Gonzaga, Henderson was scoreless within the first half earlier than going 6 for 12 within the third and fourth quarters. She was 10 for 13 from the free throw line over that span.

After Jill Townsend’s Three-pointer for Gonzaga gave the Bulldogs a 62-60 lead with six minutes to play, South Carolina (Three-Zero) acquired the lead again as much as eight within the remaining 90 seconds. The Bulldogs hit 9 Three-pointers, together with one by Cierra Walker with 54 seconds to play to chop it to 74-70.

Jenn Wirth scored 16 factors, two shy of her profession excessive, to guide Gonzaga (Zero-1). Jill Townsend added 14 for the Bulldogs.

GAME CHANGER

With Gonzaga main 66-65 and three:25 remaining within the sport Destanni Henderson sank a pair of free throws to present Carolina the lead. From there the Gamecocks went on a 9-Zero run to push the result in 74-66 with 1:33 to play, placing the sport out of attain.

KEY STAT

The Gamecocks confirmed their prowess on the glass, outrebounding the Bulldogs 36-29, and held a 15-Eight benefit in offensive rebounds. The Garnet and Black made essentially the most of these offensive boards, scoring 18 second probability factors in comparison with Gonzaga’s six.

NOTABLES

• At the moment’s win offers South Carolina it is program-record 29th-straight win, and it is second-straight common season event win after taking the highest honors on the Paradise Jam final season.
• Junior Destanni Henderson led all scorers with a career-high 23 factors, all of them coming within the second half.
• Henderson sank her first bucket of the sport with 5:44 to play within the third and by no means regarded again, ending with 23 factors, three rebounds and two assists.
• Sophomore Zia Cooke as soon as once more set the tone for the Gamecocks early on, scoring 11 of her 16 factors within the first quarter.
• Sophomore Brea Beal had her finest sport of the season, pouring in 12 factors and snatching seven rebounds, together with 5 on the offensive facet of the ball.
• Sophomore Aliyah Boston did most of her harm within the second half, scoring six of her 10 factors within the second half to assist Carolina get some respiration room towards the Zags.
• Boston has now cracked double figures in 31 of her 36 video games within the Garnet and Black.

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks (Three-Zero) return to Columbia to host No. Eight NC State on Thursday. Tipoff is about for 7 p.m. from Colonial Life Enviornment with the sport airing on ESPN2.