OXFORD, Mississippi (AP) — Zia Cooke scored five of her 24 points in overtime to help No. 1 South Carolina go unbeaten in a 64-57 win over Mississippi on Sunday.
The defending champions Gamecocks (27-0, 14-0 Southeastern Conference) suffered one of their biggest scares of the season before winning their 33rd straight game. The Rebels (20-7, 9-5) were never more than six points down in regular time and flirted with their first win over a No. 1 team in 46 years.
Cooke had six rebounds and four assists to make up for a 7-of-18 shooting performance. Aliyah Boston added 13 points and 11 rebounds on 4-of-14 shooting and didn’t score in the first quarter.
The Deep Gamecocks didn’t get their usual assist on goal for the two stars, despite Kamilla Cardoso having eight points and 11 boards.
Angel Baker led Ole Miss with 17 points. Snudda Collins added 11 while Marquesha Davis had nine points and seven rebounds. Rita Igbokwe blocked six shots.
It was only the third game by single digits and the second game in overtime for the defending champions, who won by a 33.5 point average. The first two came against No. 3 Stanford (76-71 in overtime) and No. 6 UConn (81-77). South Carolina dominated overtime 9-2.
Cooke’s second overtime basket equaled South Carolina’s widest lead to that point, 63-57, with 1:33 left. The teams traded turnovers, but Ole Miss missed three shots to stay alive, including two straight 3-point attempts from Baker from offensive rebounds.
Cooke, who scored South Carolina’s first eight points of the game, then took one of two foul shots.
Ole Miss had recovered from a six-point deficit in the last 7 minutes to force overtime.
Baker had a steal and layup and then gave Ole Miss his first lead in the opening minutes with a jumper to go 55-54 with 1:20 to go. Then Igbokwe blocked two shots from Boston to keep the lead.
With 30 seconds left, Boston took 1 of 2 free throws to tie it. Ole Miss turned it over without firing a shot and Boston couldn’t make one on the buzzer as South Carolina ended regulation after a 1-of-11 slump.
BIG PICTURE
South Carolina: Made just 23 shots of 61 (37.7%) but overtook the Rebels 49-36. The nation’s highest-scoring defense put on the braces in overtime.
Ole Miss: Lost 17 straight games to South Carolina. … Had six players in the first quarter with two points and a 16-12 deficit. … The 1977 team had beaten eventual national champion and No. 1 Delta State 73-72 at Oxford.
NEXT
South Carolina visits Tennessee Thursday night.
Ole Miss hosts Missouri on Thursday night.
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AP Women’s College Basketball: and
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