Gamecocks take care of Purdue with ease

The No.5 South Carolina Gamecocks didn’t need double overtime this year to take care of Purdue. South Carolina defeated the Boilermakers soundly, 85-51 in regulation to get win number 10 on the year. USC improves to 10-1 on the year while Purdue drops to 7-3.

Tyesha Harris scored the game’s first basket after being honored right before tip-off for joining the 1000 point club. She finished with 14 points.

Mikiah Herbert Harrigan finished with 12 and LeLe Grissett chipped in 11 as the Gamecocks had six different players score in double figures.

The Gamecocks started the game by pushing the tempo and getting good looks under the basket. Harris’s layup with 2:36 left in the first made a it 16-8 in favor of USC. Herbert Harrigan closed the quarter out with back-to-back baskets and Destanni Henderson’s shot gave USC a 24-13 lead heading into the second quarter. She finished with team-high 15 points.

Jumpers were falling for the Gamecocks in the second quarter and USC went on an 8-3 run in a two minute span to make it a 39-16 game. USC got a little sloppy to close period as three turnovers in the final two minutes led to a 7-0 run for Purdue. The Gamecocks still went into the halftime break with a commanding 43-25 lead.

The third quarter featured back-to-back blocks by Aliyah Boston and Zia Cooke getting a few tough baskets as well as showing off her court vision with a few nifty passes in traffic. Boston finished with 10 points to go with four blocks, while Cooke put up 14.

USC head coach Dawn Staley was able to get most of her bench in about midway through the fourth.

USC remains at home to take on Duke Thursday at 7 p.m.

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