Gamecocks defense suffocates Spartans in first round

COLUMBIA, SC (AP) – It wasn’t the NCAA Tournament debut South Carolina coach Dawn Staley was hoping to see from her top-seeded Gamecocks.

The final score showed a 72-40 blowout over No. 16 seed Norfolk State (26-7) on Saturday. Staley saw poor shooting early and a disjointed attack that could cost his team down the road.

“If it wasn’t for the way we played defense, (Norfolk State) would have given us a lot of trouble because of how they shot the ball,” Staley said.

Zia Cooke scored 11 points as South Carolina moved five wins away from a perfect season. Aliyah Boston had seven points, nine rebounds and two blocks for the Gamecocks (33-0), who won their 39th consecutive game since last year’s NCAA title run.

He also moved to 11-0 in first-round games at Staley. Not much has mattered to the two-time national champion coach.

He was so frustrated with his offense that he called a timeout early in the second quarter with his team ahead 24-12 – a rare feat.

Staley told his players to lock in because it doesn’t get any easier. “We’re trying to force things that aren’t there, trying to create spectacular drama instead of just simplifying,” he said. “It happened more than once and it’s time to let the players know that we don’t want to give (opponents) a chance.”

It’s not as good of a tip as South Carolina’s other games have been this season.

“Wow,” Norfolk coach Larry Vickers said when he first sat down to talk to the media.

Norfolk State’s tallest player is freshman forward Skye Robinson at 6-foot-2. South Carolina has seven players who are that tall or taller. The Spartans’ top player on the bench? Vickers, the team’s 6-9 head coach, who walked on to the Spartans’ boys team and eventually became the team’s captain.

“He’s as good as you want him to be,” he said. “And they kept running, running.”

South Carolina did its best to end any drama as Boston and Cooke scored five points in the opening quarter for a 20-7 lead.

The Gamecock starter took off in the third quarter scoring the first six points to lead 40-18 and the Spartans could not hope to catch up. The lead swelled to 30 points after three quarters with some in the stands usually full and garnet-colored complaining.

Vickers joked Monday that he wasn’t sure how much of a home game this was until he walked around the arena and saw Staley’s ceiling-to-door banner over the building’s main entrance.

Kierra Wheeler led Norfolk State with 13 points. Spartans came to shoot almost 40% in the season, but held to 16 of 61 (26%) by the Gamecocks.

Wheeler, a 6-1 sophomore who spent time at Boston’s 6-5 guard, admits how quickly it can wear on you. “I, the one who looks after Aliyah, yes I am,” Wheeler said. “It’s definitely a challenge.”

South Carolina’s second-round opponent, South Florida, won the American Athletic Conference regular season and featured a pair of top scorers in Elena Tsineke and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu. Fankam Mendjiadeu has 24 double-doubles this season, more than the Boston Gamecocks, who have 20.

Noted

• The Gamecock defense lived up to its reputation, holding Norfolk State to 26.2 percent shooting and 40 points – 22 points below its season average.
• Zia Cooke finished in double figures for the 28th time this season, leading the team with 11, including nine in the first half.
• Laeticia Amihere matched Cooke’s team with 11 points, the third time this season that she led or scored the first team in scoring.
• Sania Feagin had an impressive third quarter, scoring six of her nine points during a 6-0 run to finish the period.
• Raven Johnson was an assist machine, tallying a career-high seven with four in the second half.