No. 6 Gamecocks’ hot start leads to 92-50 App State blowout
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Mikiah Herbert Harrigan had a season-high 21 points and No. 6 South Carolina used a huge first quarter to roll past Appalachian State 92-50 on Sunday.
The Gamecocks outscored the Mountaineers 35-3 in the opening period, matching the fewest points they’d ever allowed in a quarter. It equaled the three given up to Belmont in the second quarter of an NCAA first-round victory last March and Savannah State in the third quarter of a December 2017 victory.
Things got out of hand in a hurry as freshmen Aliyah Boston, Brea Beal and Zia Cooke — all part of the Gamecocks’ No. 1 ranked recruiting class — scored every point in South Carolina’s 9-0 start. Herbert Harrigan made three baskets and by the time Tyasha Harris hit a 3-pointer and a jumper on consecutive possessions, the Gamecocks (4-0) were up 32-0.
Lainey Gosnell finally ended the drought for Appalachian State (0-3) with a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left in the period. The Mountaineers shot 1 of 18 with seven turnovers, most of them leading to easy scores for South Carolina.
Things didn’t get much better for Appalachian State going forward. The Mountaineers scored only six points in the second quarter and trailed 53-9 as South Carolina emptied its bench before the break.
Appalachian State found some life in the second half as it outscored the Gamecocks 41-39 the final 20 minutes.
Ashley Polacek had 13 points to lead the Mountaineers and Gosnell had 12.
Herbert Harrigan hit 10 of 17 shots with six rebounds and four of the Gamecocks’ program-record tying 16 blocked shots.
Boston had her second double-double in four college games with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Destanni Henderson had 16 points for the Gamecocks.
BIG PICTURE
Appalachian State: The Mountaineers had a rugged start to the season with losses at VCU and South Carolina, both preseason favorites in their conferences. In between was a heartbreaking, 67-66 loss in overtime to Elon. Appalachian State coach Angel Elderkin believes this stretch can help her program when Sun Belt Conference play comes around.
South Carolina: Usually defense is the last to come around with a team that has five newcomers in the rotation, but that’s not the case with the Gamecocks. They held Appalachian State to 26.9% and have not allowed an opponent, including No. 8 Maryland, to shoot better than 32% this season.
UP NEXT
Appalachian State opens its home season against Gardner-Webb on Friday night.
South Carolina plays USC Upstate on Thursday night.
