A Shot of Henni: Sharp Shooting Destanni Henderson leads Gamecocks Past Arkansas

Destanni Henderson hit four 3-pointers in in the Gamecocks' 90-64 SEC semifinals win over Arkansas.

The Arkansas Razorbacks have shown they can light it up from deep in a hurry and after yesterday’s 69 three-point attempts, South Carolina knew they would have to guard them from behind the arc.

The Gamecocks flipped the script and let their 3-point shooting lead the way as they won 90-64 in the seminfinals of the SEC Tournament.

Destanni Henderson in particularly came off the bench and got hot from behind the arc. She hit three of her first four 3-pointers and put the Gamecocks up 36-23 in the second quarter. She finished with a career-high 21 points, including four threes to lead the way.

In the first quarter, the Razorbacks looked like they were picking up where they left off in the quarterfinals game, hitting two 3-pointers to start. Arkansas tried to push the tempo and make the Gamecocks get out and run. South Carolina did just that and got transition baskets while Arkansas went a stretch with 10 missed shots. The finished the first quarter just 2 of 16.

Shooting picked up for Arkansas as Amber Ramirez hit back-to-back threes before Henderson went on a scoring tear of her own.

The South Carolina defense continued to protect the paint as the Gamecocks recorded seven blocks as a team.

South Carolina was held scoreless for the first four minutes of the third quarter and the Razorbacks took advantage, going on an 8-0 run. Arkansas cut the lead to eight with a layup by Alexis Tolefree, but she went down on the play and came up grabbing her right leg. She hobbled off the court, but would return.

A few plays later, Zia Cooke went up to contest A’Tyanna Gaulden’s shot, came down and smacked her head on the court and had to exit the game but would also return.

Despite Ramirez’s 18-point effort, the Gamecocks would build a 20-point lead and never looked back.

Cooke finished with 14 points while Mikiah Herbert Harrigan and Aliyah Boston both finished with 13 and Tyasha Harris with 11.

The Gamecocks avenge last season’s quarterfinals loss to the Razorbacks in the SEC Tournament and secure their spot in Sunday’s 2 p.m. championship matchup against either Mississippi State or Kentucky.