After a hard-earned road win against No. 14 Georgia, the Gamecocks stumbled at home against Mississippi State, falling 55-53 on Thursday night.

South Carolina turned the ball over 18 times (their highest total in eight games) and shot just 34.9% from the field (their lowest in their last five games).

“It was a very winnable game, but we didn’t deserve to win,” said South Carolina Head Coach Dawn Staley. “We lost this game with our preparation.”

In a game that featured a series of mini-runs by each team, it was the Bulldogs who managed to pull away with the win.

South Carolina had an opportunity to tie the game with the final possession of regulation, but Kelsey Bone’s lay-up attempt with a second to go failed to drop.

Staley had been unhappy with the team’s effort in practice in the days leading up to the match-up with Mississippi State.

“It’s my job to get them right and they weren’t right coming into the game,” she said. “Our players have a responsibility too. They have to get themselves in a position to get up and play basketball games.”

An instant reaction might point to Gamecock miscues in the final minute of action as crucial, but Staley and La’Keisha Sutton said the issues were apparent throughout the contest.

“It didn’t come down to those plays,” Staley said. “It came down to plays where things broke down.”

“Throughout the whole game, different people made different mistakes,” said Sutton. “It wasn’t any one mistake.”

Key Box Score

The freshman guard recorded an SEC-season high in minutes played with 27. Walker had her highest point output since a 10-point effort against Kentucky.

Walker shot 4-of-10 from the field, including 2-of-4 from behind the arc.


Key Stats

• The Gamecocks out-rebounded the Bulldogs 41-29. Kelsey Bone (13) and Charenee Stephens (10) each had double-digit rebound totals.
• The Gamecocks had their highest positive rebound margin (+12) since out-rebounding Brown by 20.
• Stephens recorded her first double-double of SEC play and her second of the season with 10 rebounds and 10 points.
• South Carolina turned the ball over 18 times, their highest total since 18 turnovers against Kentucky on Jan. 14.

Key Quote

“We lost as a team, we won as a team. Hopefully, we’ll come back better as a team on Sunday.” – La’Keisha Sutton

What is your greatest achievement so far?

Winning two national championships at the AAU level.

What is your greatest fear?

Getting injured.

What is the last song you heard?

Jay-Z – What more can I say

What is the last book you read?

Does poetry count? The last thing I read was a poetry book for English class.

What is a talent you’d like to have?

I want to be a better artist.  I’ve always liked to draw. I can draw good, but I can’t draw people really well.  I’d like to perfect that art.

What is your dream job?

To be a coach, maybe at the high school level.

What is your most treasured possession?

My iPod.I like to do sudoku puzzles and that game is on there. I have about 800 songs, videos, everything’s on there.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I wish I was taller.

What is one place you’d like to visit before you die?

Hawaii – i don’t know why. That’s what everyone says. It looks beautiful there though.

Name three people you’d like to meet.

Kobe Bryant, Sanaa Lathan (Love and Basketball is one of my favorite movies), President Obama.

What was your favorite TV show growing up?

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Everyone watched that.

[The Editor: Just to tie it all together - here's a clip of the Fresh Prince playing basketball. Side note - why are basketball courts always so tiny on sitcoms?]

Click here to sign up for All-Access and purchase a subscription for just $9.95 per month. For the entire 2010 baseball season, that’s just $40! That’s less than 75 cents per radio broadcast and just over $1 to watch a live stream of a home game at Carolina Stadium.

What is your perfect meal?

Pasta. Just plain noodles, no sauce. Nothing, just plain white pasta.

If you could go anywhere before you die where would you go?

I would want to go to Africa and do a safari.

Name a few people you would like to hang out with.

Bob Marley and all of The Beatles.

What was the last book you read?

The last book I read was Breaking Dawn. From the Twilight Saga, the last one.

What is your favorite movie?

My favorite movie…of all time….I would have to say Drop Dead Fred. It’s really funny.

Who are your three favorite musical artists or bands?

Bob Marley, The Beatles, and I’ll go with Lil’ Wayne…mix it up a little.

Do you have a personal motto?

No worries. Love life.

If you could change one thing, what would you change? About anything?

I’d have to say, I’d like to be a little…about two inches taller. Two inches.

South Carolina hosts Mississippi State tonight at 7 p.m. at Colonial Life Arena. The acrobat, Red Panda, will perform as the halftime act. The game will not be televised, but you can listen live on 1320 AM (in Columbia) or on GamecocksOnline.com. Brad Muller and Marcy Girton will have the call.

South Carolina (13-10, 6-5) Notes

• Freshman Kelsey Bone is averaging 14.5 points per game, and ranks second in the SEC in rebounding with 9.3 a game.

• The Gamecocks hold a 7-4 edge over the Lady Bulldogs in games played in Columbia.

• In Sunday’s game against No.14 Georgia, South Carolina tied its season low for points, but also yielded a season-low points in collecting a 52-42 win.

• Valerie Nainima was the only Gamecock to reach double-figures in Sunday’s contest, netting 21 points.

• A win against Mississippi State would bring head coach Dawn Staley within four wins of her 200^th as a head coach.

• The Gamecocks only need to win two more at home to clinch their 100^th all-time home win.

Mississippi State (15-9, 6-5) Notes

• Mississippi State is 3-2 in its last five games and is 3-2 in conference road games this season.

• As a team, the Lady Bulldogs are averaging 73.5 points per game while limiting opponents to 60.6.

• Mississippi State is shooting 41 percent from the field.

• Senior Alex Rack leads the Lady Bulldogs in scoring with 19.2 points per game.

• Mississippi State holds a 15-9 advantage in the overall series. The Lady Bulldogs have won seven of the last 10 meetings.

First half shooting struggles? Check.

Manageable halftime deficit? Check.

Second half surge? Check.

Win? Check.

For the fourth time at home in SEC play this season, the Gamecocks followed that script to perfection, gutting out a 77-71 win over Florida at Colonial Life Arena on Wednesday night.

South Carolina shot a forgettable 14-of-37 (38%) in the opening half, but trailed only 35-31 at the break. The Gamecocks were 0-of-9 from behind the arc.

“We were getting great looks, but they weren’t going in,” said South Carolina Head Coach Darrin Horn.

The Gamecocks were able to keep the Gators from getting too much of an advantage by capitalizing on Florida miscues. Florida turned the ball over 12 times in the first half while South Carolina had only three turnovers.

Leading scorer Devan Downey had just eight points in the opening period. Junior Sam Muldrow led the Gamecocks with 10 points.

“Tonight we wanted to compete and keep playing the next play regardless of how things were going,” said Horn.

Senior guard Brandis Raley-Ross said the team was confident at halftime about shot selection.

“It wasn’t like we were taking bad shots,” he said. “We knew if we kept taking good shots and moving the ball around offensively, they were going to go in.”

In the second half, shots started falling for the Gamecocks while the Gators continued to turn the ball over. The surge started to build and South Carolina would take the lead for good with six and half minutes to go.

Raley-Ross credited defensive pressure (the Gamecocks would force 20 Gator turnovers) as the factor that pushed South Carolina past Florida.

“Defense – we were preaching it at every huddle,” he said.  “We knew we could do what we wanted offensively – it was all about defense.”

Raley-Ross scored 17 points in the second half, including four three-pointers. Downey got on track as well, finishing with 24 points.

“The second half effort was much better,” said Horn. “We played with a lot more energy on both ends of the court. It was a terrific total team effort.”

Key Box Score

Early in the second half, Downey drove inside and kicked it out to Raley-Ross for a 3-point attempt. Raley-Ross faked and passed the ball away. His head coach was less than pleased.

“I told him at the media timeout that he leads the country in shot fakes,” said Horn. “I told him if he passed up another 3, he was coming out.”

The senior guard heeded the call, hitting 4-of-8 from behind the arc in the second half to score 20 points. The 20-point effort was a season-high for Raley-Ross and tied his career high.

“Brandis was huge and made some really big shots for us in the second half,” said Horn.

“He told me he was going to take me out so I let it fly,” said Raley-Ross. “It felt good to make them down the stretch like that.”

Key Stats

• South Carolina forced 20 Florida turnovers, a season-high for the Gators.
• The Gamecocks scored 20 points off Gator turnovers.
• South Carolina forced 20 or more turnovers for the ninth time this season.
• Tonight was the first time this year that two Gamecocks have scored 20 or more points in the game.
• Tonight was also the first time since the loss to Vanderbilt on Jan. 16 that more than two Gamecocks scored in double figures.
• Florida struggled from the free throw line, making only 9-of-22 attempts.

Key Quote

“Devan has been so good and so special that I think the effort our entire team is putting forth…has gone a little overlooked. Our guys are continuing to fight and play to find a way to win,” – Darrin Horn.

The Gamecocks will host the Florida Gators this Wednesday at Colonial Life Arena. Tip off is set for 8 p.m. and will be televised on the SEC Network (Channel 806 – Time Warner Cable, Columbia) with Dave Neal and Mark Gottfried on the call. Fans can also listen to Andy Demetra and Casey Manning on the Gamecock ISP Sports Network across the state.

South Carolina (13-9, 4-4) Notes

• South Carolina is 10-2 in games played at Colonial Life Arena this season, scoring 80.0 points per game in those contests.
• The Gamecocks are 3-1 in conference home games this season with wins over LSU, then-No.1 Kentucky and Georgia.
• Devan Downey’s 3.0 steals per game lead the league and rank second in the nation (as of Feb. 8 NCAA stats)
• In January’s contest in Gainesville, Downey dropped 36 on the Gators and has averaged 34.5 ppg against UF in the last two meetings
• At the Colonial Life Arena in 2009, South Carolina defeated the Gators, 70-69, on a buzzer-beater layup made by Zam Fredrick.
• Over the last 3 seasons, no game between UF and South Carolina has only been decided by more than 4 points, and 9 of the last 11 meetings between the two have been decided by six points.

Florida  (17-6, 6-3) Notes

• Florida holds a 36-20 advantage in the all-time series with South Carolina, including a 17-12 upper hand in games played in Columbia
• Chandler Parsons’ buzzer-beater 3 gave Florida a 58-56 win in the first meeting this season between the two schools just two weeks ago
• Florida has won the last 10 match-ups between the two SEC East rivals
• The Gators have been much more effective closing out games, and after last Thursday’s 66-65 win at Alabama, are 5-3 in games decided by 5 points or less
• Chandler Parsons had his third double-double of the season and fifth of his career with 18 points and 12 boards against Mississippi State. He leads UF in rebounding in SEC play at 7.4 per game, including a team-high 22 offensive rebounds

What is a talent you would like to have?

I would love to be able to sing or dance. You always see those kids at school, like you were automatically popular if you could dance or sing…do a back flip or something like that.

Name two people you would like to hang out with.

I’d love to hang out with Pudge Rodriguez. Pudge is my favorite baseball player ever, and I don’t know, maybe Eva Longoria.

What is your dream job?

My dream job is just something with sports. That’s one of the only things that really just keeps me interested all the time. I’m always watching Sports Center. I mean, it would be cool to work with ESPN, but I don’t want to be the media or a journalist.

What is your personal motto?

Work hard. Everyday. Like it’s your last. I mean, everything in life is going to happen for a reason, you just have to work for it.

Do you have any pre-game rituals?

Before every game Audrey and I always go up to the bullpen, even if she’s not pitching that game or warming up. I’ll stand on the home plate with my feet on both sides, and we play…I don’t even know what it’s called…but it’s like slap-hands, and you do it five times through. If we win, we do that again, if we don’t, we change the number.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are three things you would have with you?

My cell phone, a bunch of food, and probably a TV; I need some sort of entertainment. If I could bring a friend instead of a TV, that might work too.

What is the last song you heard on your ipod?

Probably some Britney Spears song, I think. I think “I’m a Slave for You” is the last thing that came on; I was walking to class.

What is your greatest fear?

Heights. I cry on roller coasters.