Clemson found itself outmatched against No. 5 South Carolina in a de facto road game in Littlejohn Coliseum as the Gamecock Club bussed in a few hundred fans in garnet to the upstate. The Lady Tigers fell 84-48 after struggling to sink baskets from the field.
Clemson shot just 26-percent and turned the ball over 22 times while South Carolina finished 48-percent from the field and 35-percent from three.
The Lady Tigers still lead the overall series 33-32 but dropped their 10th straight to the Gamecocks.
Clemson head coach Amanda Butler knows her team has room to improve but credited the Gamecocks for their defensive performance.
“We cannot dwell on how badly we played today we just have to move on and get ready for our next opponent,” Butler said. “You have to give South Carolina a lot of credit for their defense but I feel like we are a tighter unit than what we displayed today.”
The game got away from the Tigers quickly as they trailed 20-9 after the first quarter and didn’t get closer as the game progressed. South Carolina pulled away to its largest lead in the fourth after outscoring Clemson 23-6 in the third quarter.
The Lady Tigers showed fight down the stretch and tied the Gamecocks at 19 in the fourth corner behind a pair of three pointers from freshman Kaylee Sticker who finished with six points.
Senior Kobi Thornton led the way for Clemson with 10 points and 10 rebounds for her 18th double-double and first since February 24, 2019 against Virginia Tech where she score. Thornton played well but was limited after she recorded her fourth foul 19 seconds into the third quarter.
Butler thought Thornton took positives steps tonight with her presence on the boards and hopes to build on it moving forward.
“We need Kobi to play like a senior every minute she’s on the floor,” Butler said. “Everybody has a different role but hers is pressure to score and get rebounds for us to win so tonight was a step in the right direction.”
South Carolina finished with six players in double figures and were led by Aliyah Boston who finished with 13 points on five-of-seven shooting and Mikiah Herbert Harrigan who scored 13 points on five-of-nine shooting including three-of-five from the charity stripe.
Clemson travels to Maryland on Friday for a 5:45 pm tip-off.