East Regional

South Carolina uses 25-0 run to blow out Cincy

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Before Monday night's game, South Carolina coach Susan Walvius told her team the bench would have to be as important as the starting five for the Lady Gamecocks to win.

Former starter Tatyana Troina took the coach's words to heart, sparking a 25-0 run that led No. 3 seed South Carolina (24-6) to a 75-56 victory against Cincinnati in the second round of the East Regional.

Troina's 3-pointer started the run and gave the Lady Gamecocks a 43-41 lead with 11:42 left. A foul was called off the ball, and Troina took the ensuing inbounds pass and hit a baseline jumper.

Troina would score eight of her 14 points during the run. Teresa Geter, who led all scorers with 21 points, and Shaunzinski Gortman, who ended the game with 19 points, accounted for all 25 of the Lady Gamecocks' points during the eight-minute stretch.

Walvius said her team's defense was as important as the hot shooting. During the eight-minute run, Cincinnati missed nine shots, had four turnovers and a technical called on a player on the bench. The Lady Bearcats shot just 32.3 percent (20-of-62) overall and finished with 18 turnovers.

"They are capable of going far, they really are, if they do the things they did today," Walvius said.

By the time K.B. Sharp hit a jumper to end the run with 4:08 left, the sixth-seeded Bearcats (27-5) trailed 65-43.

Cincinnati head coach Laurie Pirtle said she didn't think her young team lost their composure during the run. She said South Carolina just played better.

"The momentum swung and that made the even better," Pirtle said.

Sharp and Valerie King led Cincinnati with 13 points apiece. King shot 4-for-18 from the field and 1-for-7 from 3-point range.

The win puts South Carolina into the round of 16 for the first time since 1990. The Lady Gamecocks will face seventh-seeded Drake on Saturday in Raleigh, N.C.

"The Sweet 16 is nice," Walvius said. "But I don't think it's the cap of what we are capable of as a team."

 

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