Clemson women’s basketball used 21 points from junior
Sthefany Thomas and and 20 from sophomore Shaniqua Pauldo,to defeat
the South Carolina Gamecocks, 94-92, in double overtimein Littlejohn
Coliseum. The Tigers (2-1)won their second straight over the Gamecocks
(1-1) in just the sixth double overtime game in school history and the
fourth overtime game against South Carolina.
“I came into this game telling the girls they needed to play a hard 40
minutes,” said head coach Cristy McKinney. “I didn’t realize it would
turn into a 50 minute game, but the girls rose to the challenge and
played hard.”
With the Tigers up one, April Parker fouled Valeria Nainima with 7.6
seconds remaining. Nainima hit the first of two free throws, but the
second rimmed out to Kirstyn Wright. After a bit of a scrum, Wright
found Pauldo, who raced down court, launching a three-point attempt
with three seconds on the clock. However, Pauldo was hit by Kesley
Bone while she was in the act of shooting, second her to the line in a
92-92 game. Pauldo missed the first, but drained the second.
“Pauldo did an excellent job on defense,” said head coach Cristy
McKinney. “She battled hard against Kelsey Bone (#5). Pauldo made a
big play at the end of the game. She made two key free throws to put
us up. She’s been working on her free throws and it showed in this
game with her making 8 of 12 from the line.”
The third shot hit front rim, but was corralled by Lele Hardy, earning
her a double-double. Hardy was fouled and sent to the line where she
made the first, giving Clemson a 94-92 edge with 0.3 seconds on the
clock. Hardy missed the second but grabbed her won rebound to seal the
win for Clemson.
The game featured 17 ties and 13 lead changes, as the teams slugged it
out for most of the night. Freshman Kelsey Bone had 32 points and 14
rebounds to lead South Carolina, who have now played into overtime in
each of their two games this season.
Thomas lead the Tigers with a career-high-tying 21 points, shooting
8-14 from the field, including 3-6 from three-point range. Pauldo
finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds, including two free throws with
2.3 seconds left to put the Tigers ahead 94-92. Senior Lele Hardy had
her third straight double-double, finishing with 17 points and 11
rebounds, including two straight offensive boards off of missed free
throws with less that three seconds remaining in double overtime.
Freshman Keyrra Gillespie played an astounding 49 minutes at point
guard, and flirted with a triple-double as she registered 10 points,
nine assists, seven rebounds, and four steals. The Statesville, NC
native ahs committed only 11 turnovers in 111 minutes at point guard,
while notching 22 assists.
“We ask a lot of Gillespie and she always comes through and makes big
plays when we need her,” said McKinney. “She is a talented player and
I’m looking forward to seeing more big things from her as the season
progresses.”
The Gamecocks made a valiant effort just to force double overtime. A
beautiful spin-move-turned-floater from the free throw line by
Gillespie gave Clemson a six point advantage with 1:24 left in
overtime. However, Bone scored a basket and drew a foul. She missed
the free throw, and after a short offensive set, the La’Keisha Sutton
found Nainima for a three-pointer, cutting the deficit to one point.
After a Pauldo free throw, a Bone layup with 3.7 seconds remaining
tied the game and sent it into double overtime.
The end of the second half was equally tense, with the Gamecocks
holding a four-point advantage with 2:37 remaining in the ball game. A
Gillespie layup cut it to two, and Gillespie again scored an and-one
to tie the score. The Tigers took a one-point lead as Hardy grabbed
the rebound of Gillespie’s miss and was fouled, making one free throw.
Carolina responded with a Sutton jumper, giving them a two-point edge
with under 20 seconds remaining. However, Hardy drove to the basket
and hit an off-balance layup with under five seconds remaining to tie
the score and send the game to overtime.
The Tigers will play next at Kennesaw State on Tuesday at 7:00 pm,
before heading to Storrs, CT for the WBCA Classic. The Tigers will
play Hofstra, Richmond, and UConn in the three-day tournament.
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