No. 1 South Carolina routs No. 9 Oregon 80-63, faces UConn
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) - Zia Cooke scored 20 points and Laeticia Amihere added 18 to help top-ranked South Carolina rout No. 9 Oregon 80-63 on Sunday in the semifinals of the inaugural Battle 4 Atlantis women's tournament.
South Carolina's victory sets up a matchup Monday against No. 2 UConn for the tournament title Monday. The Huskies edged No. 23 South Florida in the other semifinal.
This was the first meeting between the Gamecocks (5-0) and the Ducks (3-1) since 2002. The two teams were favored to play for the national championship in 2020 before the NCAA Tournament was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Both are very different teams since then.
Oregon came into the game shorthanded.
Ducks forward Nyara Sabally sat out to rest her right knee, which she tweaked in the opening round win over Oklahoma. She had been considered day to day, according to coach Kelly Graves. After playing 37 minutes and scoring a a career-high 30 points in the win Saturday, Sabally was given the day off.
The Ducks already were missing sophomore guard Te-Hina Paopao, freshman guard Taylor Bigby and USC junior transfer Endyia Rogers because of injuries.
South Carolina was able to take advantage, jumping out to a 27-14 lead after one quarter. Oregon came within 32-23 midway through the second quarter before the Gamecocks closed the half with a 12-3 burst.
Cooke started the spurt with a layup, Amihere scored six straight points and the Gamecocks led 44-26 at the break.
South Carolina scored 11 of the first 13 points in the third quarter to put the game away.
Chanaya Pinto scored 12 points to lead Oregon.
TIP-INS
The Gamecocks won the only two previous meetings between the schools, with the last coming in the 2002 Paradise Jam. ... Aliyah Boston scored 16 points for the Gamecocks a day after having 23 in the opener. ... Graves reached the 600-win mark in the opening round of the tournament.
BIG PICTURE
Oregon: The Ducks are gaining valuable experience for many of their reserves in this tough three-day tournament. They'll be better once they get healthy.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks found different ways to win in the first two games. They used a dominant interior presence to rout Buffalo and then used strong play from their guards to beat the Ducks.
UP NEXT
Oregon: Faces No. 23 South Florida in the third place game Monday.
South Carolina: Faces second-ranked UConn for the championship Monday.
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