South Carolina defeats Drake 79-65

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- South Carolina answered every charge Drake could muster to advance in the NCAA tournament.

Shaunzinski Gortman and Jocelyn Penn each had 19 points as third-seeded South Carolina beat seventh-seeded Drake 79-65 in an East Regional semifinal Saturday.

The Gamecocks (25-6) earned their first trip to a regional final, where they will face the winner of Saturday's game between No. 1 seed Duke and fourth-seeded Texas. The Gamecocks, who were 11-17 last year, are making their first NCAA tournament appearance in 11 years.

Drake (25-8) was looking for its first trip to a regional final since 1982.

South Carolina built a 16-point halftime lead, and then held off the Bulldogs as they scrapped to get back into the game.

"Good teams will make runs, and whenever they made a run, we just had to answer," Gortman said. "I think that frustrates a team, when they're trying to get back into a ballgame and you just keep scoring on them."

Trailing 51-33 early in the second half, Drake got consecutive 3-pointers from Erin Richards and Stephanie Schmitz, followed by consecutive inside scores from Carla Bennett to close to 53-43 with 12:12 to play.

But the Bulldogs couldn't overtake the Gamecocks, who answered with an inside score from Teresa Geter. Over the next three minutes, Drake got within 10 three times only to have the Gamecocks answer with a score on their next possession.

Two of the scores came as the Gamecocks pushed the ball ahead in transition, while a third came when Tatyana Troina batted a loose ball into the basket after a blocked shot.

Drake got as close as 69-61 late, but Gortman hit a 3 from the top with 4:03 left and scored seven unanswered points to push the margin to double figures.

"They would see us start to make a run and put points on the board, and they'd have an answer for it," said Bennett, who led Drake with 20 points.

"It seems like we'd score and they'd [suddenly] be down on the block with the ball. They answered every single time and unfortunately we were never able to get the defensive stops we were looking for."

Drake shot 64 percent in the second half, but South Carolina took a 37-29 edge on the glass and got 20 offensive rebounds, converting them into 22 second-chance points.

South Carolina had 16 more shot attempts in the game.

"Defense is the key to winning and rebounding is the key to winning," South Carolina coach Susan Walvius said. "We need those 16 more opportunities a game."

South Carolina's man-to-man defense controlled Drake in a brisk first half that had just six fouls called. The Bulldogs shot just 32 percent and had 12 turnovers.

The Gamecocks scored 13 points off turnovers -- the last two coming on Gortman's layup after a turnover by Schmitz just before halftime -- as the Gamecocks methodically pulled away for a 39-23 lead at the break.

South Carolina scored 14 of its last 17 points in the paint before halftime. Seven players scored for the Gamecocks, who shot 55 percent in the half.

 

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