South Carolina women's basketball beats Missouri, avenges last regular-season loss
It took more than two years, but South Carolina women's basketball has avenged its last regular-season loss.
The No. 1 Gamecocks took down Missouri 81-57 at Mizzou Arena on Thursday, getting a win at the location of its last regular-season defeat, on Dec. 30, 2021. They have won their past 65 regular-season games.
Junior guard Bree Hall scored a career-high 21 points to lead South Carolina (15-0, 3-0 SEC), and senior guard Te-Hina Paopao contributed 15 points and six rebounds. Forwards Sania Feagin and Ashlyn Watkins each added 10 points.
"We haven't had a lot of success here, but when you do, you feel good about it because you know it's a tough place to play," South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. "It's a place that you haven't had success, so when you do, you gotta enjoy it."
South Carolina outscored Missouri 22-11 in the fourth quarter on the way to the victory.
Missouri (9-7, 0-3) fought through the third quarter, cutting the lead to five before South Carolina went on an 8-0 run to put the game out of reach.
The Gamecocks also went on a 17-2 run in a five-minute span in the second quarter, turning a one-point deficit into a 13-point halftime lead. The run was spurred by 3-point shooting — South Carolina had four makes from deep in the run, then hit one more before the end of the half.
Bree Hall continues scoring stretch
Near the end of the third quarter, Hall pulled up for a 3-pointer, watched it sink through and pumped her fist.
Sixteen of Hall's points came in the first half, nearly matching her best of 18. She was shot 8-for-10 from the floor and made all four of her 3-point attempts. She has scored at least 15 points in each of her past three outings.
"She's in a groove," Staley said. "What you're seeing is a junior — she sat the bench a lot her first two years, then has the opportunity to start and to play an integral role on our team She's proving why experience is a real thing."
3-point shooting spurs first-half run
South Carolina trailed 20-18 in the second quarter and was 1-for-6 from beyond the arc.
Paopao finally got a 3-pointer to go in. Then freshman guard Tessa Johnson hit one. Then Hall made one, giving the Gamecocks 3s on back-to-back-to-back possessions and starting a 17-2 run.
South Carolina, the nation's best 3-point shooting team entering Thursday, finished shooting 8-for-15 from deep. The three consecutive makes propelled it into a 41-28 halftime lead, an advantage it didn't relinquish.
"It's a weapon for us right now at this stage of the game with this particular team," Staley said. "Any time we can go pound-for-pound with a team like Missouri when it comes to 3's . . . if we don't get our eight to go down, it's a different basketball game."
Paopao, who hit 3 of 4 from 3-point range, leads the national in making 55% of her 3-point attempts, and has hit at least two in every game this season.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: South Carolina women's basketball reigns supreme over Missouri
