Gamecock bench energizes South Carolina in win over Georgia

The Gamecocks has some rust early on after a few days off, but the bench gave them the jumpstart they needed in the 89-56.

In their first game after a double-bye the obvious concern for the South Carolina Gamecocks was rust. 

When they showed signs of that on the offensive end, Dawn Staley was able to go to her to her bench and get the energy she needed to jump start the team en route to the 89-56 win over Georgia in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.

“I thought we were a little rattled early on. Maybe it was just the rust of not playing on a Thursday,” Staley said after the game. “But I think our bench has shown up all season long to give us a boost. They gave us the boost that we needed early in this basketball game. I was happy to see them impact in this way.”

Lele Grissett scored 12 off the bench, Victaria Saxton 11 and Destanni Henderson 10. Both Saxton and Laeticia Amihere tallied three blocks in the contest.

The starters’ statline was nothing to sneeze at either as Mikiah Herbert Harrigan finished with 16 and Tyasha Harris 15. Aliyah Boston led the team with four blocks.

Georgia head coach Joni Taylor joined the list of SEC coaches who believe this year’s team could be the best version yet.

“I've said it, this is, in my mind, Dawn's most complete team she's put on the floor since she's been at South Carolina. They’re really good at every position. Honestly, since we played them, their subs have sometimes hurt us more than their starter,” she said.

“Let's be frank, everybody she brings off the bench could be starting somewhere else. It shows the camaraderie they have, that she's got them all playing well, no matter if they start, don't start. In the minutes they play they're productive when they're on the floor. You just never can get a break because they just come in and they keep coming at you, coming at you, because of their skill set and how good they are on both ends of the floor.”

Consistency has been key for South Carolina as they’ve featured the same starting lineup for pretty much the entire season. Staley said she doesn’t see that changing due to the chemistry the second unit has already built with one another.

“I mean we just see how the game goes. Obviously they know when they're coming in the game, somewhere after the five-minute timeout,” she said. It depends on who's in foul trouble. Kiki picked up one early. We try to jockey to make sure that Kiki nor Aliyah have to sit down for extended minutes because of foul trouble. But that second unit is used to playing with each other. They've done it all year long in practices. I actually like seeing them together where they're playing as a unit because they're so familiar with themselves.”

The Gamecocks advance to take on the winner of the Texas A&M Arkansas game.