COLUMBIA — The fight was expected, as was the fight within the fight.
But South Carolina had seethed over the other game far too long to drop Round 2.
The No. 9 Gamecocks out-toughed the No. 11 Tigers 64-54 Sunday, discovering their outside shooting after A’ja Wilson and Alexis Jennings were effectively swallowed in the paint by Missouri’s rugged defense. USC (18-3, 7-2 SEC) splashed seven 3-pointers, got a game-high 19 points from point guard Ty Harris and gave as much as they got from an opponent known for its physicality.
Keyed for a knockdown drag-out after the Jan. 7 loss to Mizzou, where USC coach Dawn Staley complained about early fouls against Wilson and the Tigers’ notoriously up-close brand of basketball, a wired crowd booed Tigers star guard Sophie Cunningham every time she touched the ball. What everybody thought would happen, happened near the end of the second quarter.
Jennings and Kayla Michael were chasing a long rebound. They tied up and hit the deck, and officials and teammates quickly surrounded them.
Cunningham and Doniyah Cliney arrived at the same time, Cunningham appearing to lean into Cliney and shove her aside, which caused a retaliation of Cliney thrusting her hands near Cunningham’s face. Cunningham walked off, arms raised, bumping her shoulder into Jennings, who turned around ready for more.
The Tigers’ coaching staff quickly had Cunningham on the opposite sideline while order was restored. After a long delay, officials ejected Missouri's Nadia Green and Jordan Roundtree for leaving the bench, issued a team technical to the Tigers and flagrant fouls to Cunningham and Cliney.
“Our players are on edge,” Staley said. “They watched the film from last game, and they don’t want to go into a game unprotected. Intensity was high, and I just saw some players trying to protect themselves, from both teams.”
Each team calmed down and the game resumed, the Tigers expectedly crowding Wilson and Jennings in the paint and forcing tough shots. They dared the Gamecocks to shoot from outside, but the plan backfired — USC, built so much around Wilson, was popping jumpers and 3-pointers at the rate Wilson normally supplies inside points.
“That had a lot to do with me. I was speeding up a lot of things,” said Wilson, who still recorded a double-double (15 points, 15 rebounds) but shot 5 of 15 from the floor. “I didn’t feel comfortable.”
A back-and-forth game became tied with 4:32 to go, but Wilson cleaned up Lele Grissett’s miss for a two-point USC lead. Following the timeout, Jennings finally showed up.
The junior had played 23 minutes with no points. Outside of the near-fisticuffs, she was a non-factor. Once she re-entered, Missouri (17-4, 5-3) never knew what hit it.
She posted up and scored, then stripped Cierra Porter and turned it into another layup. Jennings ended with seven points, six boards and two steals, anchoring the Gamecocks’ free-throw shooting to ice the game.
A crew with no returnees from the previous game officiated, and the NCAA’s coordinator of officials attended. Wilson benefited from several calls where the Tigers were guarding her, and outside the scuffle (which resulted in rather light punishment), there were no controversial whistles.
Cunningham scored 18, but Porter had none in a foul-plagued afternoon. Amber Smith managed just nine.
After the first game, Staley fought for what she deemed an unlevel playing field. The Gamecocks knew what to expect, and once Jennings and Michael tangled, settled in.
“We were honestly kind of good,” Wilson said. “I just said, ‘The time is now.’ We knew that game … it was going to happen. We knew coming in it was going to be a tough game.”
NOTE: Cliney was shaken up at the end of the game, bent at the waist by the Missouri bench. Staley said she ran into an elbow or a screen or something, but she was OK afterward.