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by Marilyn McManus, SECWB.com

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It was, perhaps, the cruellest way to lose a game. The two teams sparred for a while, in the first half, then the Gamecocks opened a lead that would grow as high as 14 points. It was enough, anyway, for the Gamecocks fans to smell victory and believe that it was within reach. In the first half, with Jordan Jones on fire, the Gamecocks were able to answer every challenge by the Wolfpack and retain a comfortable lead.

In the second half, the lead began to shrink…but it appeared to stabilize, for some time, at around a 4-point margin. That in itself was remarkable, given that the Gamecocks did not score for the first five minutes of the second half. The 4-point margin held until the final three minutes of the game, when the Wolfpack surge finally resulted in a knockout blow, grabbing a 4-point lead of their own with 1:35 to play. Two foul shots by Ilona Burgrova had the Gamecocks within 2 points only 20 seconds later and the Gamecocks also got the rebound on a missed shot by Shayla Fields, with only 46 seconds left to play. Seconds later, the Gamecocks turned over the ball, then fouled Nikitta Gartrell, resulting in another 4-point lead for the Wolfpack, with only 22 seconds left to play. Brionna Dickerson missed the 3-point attempt on the ensuing possession and the Gamecocks were forced to foul to ensure another possession. By the time they got the ball, the lead was 5 and there were only 8 seconds left. Dickerson hit a 3-point shot with 2 seconds left on the clock, to bring the lead down to 2 points–and the Gamecocks had to foul again. You could have heard a pin drop when Shayla Fields stepped up to the line (in fact, I did clearly hear a fan in another section mutter “you refs stink” and I know nearly everyone in the arena must have heard it, too) but as soon as she hit the first shot, a Wolfpack victory was nearly guaranteed. With only one second left on the clock, Samone Kennedy could only grab the rebound and fling it towards the Gamecock basket in desperation. The ball fell well short and the Wolfpack moved into Round Three of the WNIT championship.


Jordan Jones was the leading scorer of the game, with 27 points on 9-12 shooting, including 7 of 9 from 3-point range. Ilona Burgrova was next, with 12 points (including 6-8 at the free throw line) and 3 rebounds. Demetress Adams led the Gamecocks with 8 rebounds.

It was on the boards that the Wolfpack did much of their damage, out-rebounding the Gamecocks 48-35. The Wolfpack had 23 offensive rebounds–compared to the Gamecocks’ 6–for a lot of second chance looks for points. It was enough to make the difference in the game, despite the Gamecocks out-shooting them from the field (40% v. 35%), the 3-point line (66% v, 35%) and the free throw line (79% v. 62%).

Shayla Fields, Nikitta Gartrell and Kadijah Whittington were in double figures for NC State, with 16, 14 and 11 points, respectively. Whittington also had 15 rebounds in the game, 9 defensive and 6 offensive. Lucy Ellison had 6 rebounds for the Wolfpack, all on the offensive glass.

The South Carolina Gamecocks end their season with a 16-16 record

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by Marilyn McManus, SECWB.com

South Carolina has advanced to the second round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament and will travel to Raleigh, NC on Monday night to face the Wolfpack of North Carolina State University.

USC played NCSU recently, just last season; however, the Gamecocks team–today–bears little resemblance to the team that dropped a 41-53 decision at Reynolds Coliseum in November of 2006. That senior-laden team suffered a horrible shooting night: 15 of 64 from the floor, 11 of 20 from the free-throw line and 0 of 9 from 3-point range. The only starter from that game that remains on the team is Demetress Adams, who actually had a fairly decent game against NCSU (if you ignore 4 turnovers), with 9 points on 4-8 shooting from the floor and 8 rebounds. Seniors Lakesha Tolliver and Ilona Burgrova played a combined 20 minutes in that game and had a combined total of 2 points, 8 rebounds and 5 turnovers.

But let’s leave the past behind and look ahead to focus on Monday’s game. NC State is 18-12, this season, and returns 3 starters from last year’s team. Senior Kadijah Whittington is the heart and soul of the Wolfpack, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds per game. Junior guard Shayla Fields also scores in double figures with 13.2 points per game. Nobody else comes close to Whittington’s rebounding numbers, either on offense or defense, but sophomore Lucy Ellison pulls down 6 rebounds a game. Whittington, Fields and sophomore Nikitta Gartrell are the solid starters; four players alternate filling in the other two starting positions.

The Wolfpack is coached by Kay Yow, now in her 33rd year of coaching at NCSU. Yow has over 700 career victories, 20 trips to the NCAA Tournament, 11 trips to the Sweet Sixteen and 1 trip to the Final Four in 1998. She has 5 regular-season ACC championships, 4 ACC Tournament titles, 20 20-win seasons and 28 winning seasons. She was the first ACC women’s basketball coach to surpass 650 wins. I could go on for pages, seriously, but I’m not writing Coach Yow’s biography. This trip to the WNIT is only the second of Yow’s career; the last time she had a team in this tournament was her first year of coaching at NCSU.

South Carolina is led by freshman shooting guard Jordan Jones, who averages 12.6 points per game and broke a WNIT record Friday night, hitting 9 3-point shots in Carolina’s opening round victory over North Carolina A&T. Junior Demetress Adams averages 11 points and 9 rebounds per game, as well as leading the team in blocked shots (54) and steals (64), while junior guard Brionna Dickerson averages 10.4 points per game. Speedy point guard Samone Kennedy, who usually comes in off the bench, has 103 assists and finished the regular season at 10th place in the Southeastern Conference standings with an average of 3.34 per game. She also ranked 6th in assists/turnover ratio. Kennedy was critical to the success of the Gamecocks in the first-round game. Her presence in the lineup increases the tempo on both ends of the court and her ability to draw the defense to her lets the Carolina shooters get set for their shots.

Reynolds Coliseum is a tough place for a visiting team to play, a definite advantage for the Wolfpack. NCSU may also feel that they have something to prove, after being left out of the NCAA Tournament, despite a pretty decent record and no horribly embarrasing losses. (There were 3 losses by more than 10 points: to Virginia, Duke and Maryland.)

The Gamecocks are just happy to be playing in the post-season–and maybe that’s an important point. The NC A&T Aggies gave the Gamecocks a very tough game for the first 20 minutes, keeping it fast and physical and the score close. The Gamecocks were not rattled and didn’t lose focus–they made plenty of mistakes, but they didn’t wallow in them–they scrapped and they hustled and they actually seemed to be having FUN , playing the game. I can’t remember the last time I had that impression, watching the Gamecocks, and it was a welcome change. I know that they are feeling the pressure that comes from having a mediocre record and all of the speculation about coaching changes. Here’s a little bit of completely unsolicited advice: Forget about it. There’s nothing you can do, now, to change what has already happened. So go out and play–just play–like there’s no tomorrow. You’re good at this game. Enjoy it.

The second-round WNIT game is at Reynolds Coliseum, Monday night, on the campus of NC State University. Game time is 7 pm.

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