Zia Cooke's team-high 17 points paced the South Carolina women's basketball team to a win in its season opener at NC State. | Gamecocksonline.com
Zia Cooke's team-high 17 points paced the South Carolina women's basketball team to a win in its season opener at NC State. | Gamecocksonline.com
The top-ranked South Carolina women’s basketball team hit the road for its season opener, knocking off No. 5 NC State, 66-57, in a clash of Carolina titans.
Led by Zia Cooke's team-high 17 points and 14 more from Destanni Henderson, the Gamecocks shot 49% from the floor on the night. South Carolina junior center Aliyah Boston, a preseason Associated Press All-American, added 8 points, 6 boards and 5 blocks in the winning effort.
Boston's defense in the paint proved effective on stopping NC State star Elissa Cunane, who entered the game the preseason Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year.
“Everyone knows that the strength of our is team is getting the ball inside, and the layers and layers of bigs that we have,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley told Gamecocksonline.com. “You play the percentages, you try the ball out of the bigs’ hands and not allow them to have as much involvement. It would take pretty much an expert passer to get that ball to our post players when they’re open. That’s timing. We just don’t have that right now, and so, we just did enough to win the basketball game.”
The Wolfpack was led by Raina Perez and Jake Brown-Turner, who each had 18 points.
Staley improved to 12-2 in season openers and it was the 11th straight season-opening win for South Carolina.
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