Missouri’s Lauren Hansen, right, dribbles past past South Carolina’s Zia Cooke on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. The Tigers defeated the Gamecocks, an upset costing South Carolina their first loss of the season.
As the clock ticked down, junior guard Lauren Hansen found herself with another opportunity to hit a deciding shot against a top-5 team. After missing a shot at the buzzer against then-No. 5 Baylor, Hansen used a screen by junior forward Hayley Frank to drive to the basket and deliver a layup in the final second to shock No. 1 South Carolina 70-69.
Hansen’s basket gave Missouri women’s basketball its first victory over a No. 1 team in the program’s history and snapped South Carolina’s 43-game winning streak over unranked teams.
The Tigers came away victorious despite learning they would have only eight scholarship players for the game due to COVID-19 protocols. Those unable to play included their leading scorer and the SEC’s rebounding leader Aijha Blackwell as well as freshman guard Izzy Higginbottom.
Missouri used efficient shooting from beyond the arc and free throw line to secure the victory and overcome its shorthanded roster. The Tigers finished 7-15 from 3-point range and 13-16 from the line.
Hansen and Frank scored 21 points apiece, while sophomore guard Mama Dembele tacked on 11 points as well. Frank finished 7-8 from the field, including 3-4 from beyond the arc. Hansen grabbed a career-high seven rebounds as well.
Without Blackwell, who accounted for about a third of Missouri’s rebounds per game, the Gamecocks outrebounded the Tigers 47-37. South Carolina forced second-chance opportunities with 20 offensive rebounds, resulting in 22 second-chance points.
Missouri countered with a strong defensive presence, which held the Gamecocks to 38.2% from the field and 28.6% from beyond the arc. Dembele and redshirt senior guard Haley Troup constantly created defensive pressure and recorded two steals apiece.
“We knew we could control our grittiness or toughness or resiliency,” Missouri head coach Robin Pingeton said. “We had to [have] a next-play mentality and find solutions.”
Redshirt senior forward LaDazhia Williams posted her best Aijha Blackwell impression in her first start of the season, recording a double-double against her former team. Williams scored the Tigers’ first points of the game en route to a 12 point-12 rebound effort.
“We knew we needed [Williams] to show up,” Pingeton said. “I thought she was in a zone. I thought she really battled. She didn’t back down.”
Missouri missed its five field goals to begin the game, allowing South Carolina to jump to an early 5-0 advantage. Williams responded with a layup, but the teams traded baskets for several minutes. A 3-point jumper from senior guard Destiny Littleton gave the Gamecocks a 12-6 lead with 1:27 remaining in the first quarter.
Frank responded with a 3-point basket from the top of the key to cut the lead in half. Following a missed jumper by South Carolina junior guard Brea Beal, Hansen worked from the wing and connected on a jumper from the paint to bring the Tigers’ deficit to 1 at the end of the first period.
Missouri used the late first quarter momentum to grab its first lead of the game on a 3-pointer from Hansen to begin the second quarter. Gamecocks sophomore center Kamilla Cardoso used her size to score six consecutive South Carolina points, but Frank responded after each basket to make it a 22-18 Tigers lead with 5:14 left in the half.
Junior forward and National Player of the Year contener Aliyah Boston made a free throw to cut the Gamecocks’ deficit to 3 points, but Williams countered with 7 points in two minutes, including an emphatic pump-fake layup that brought a loud ovation from the 6,139 in attendance.
“[We] appreciate [the fans] so much,” Pingeton said. “We want them to feel a part of this because we can’t do it without them, and I think that’s what makes our fans so special.”
Frank capped off Missouri’s strong second quarter with a 3-pointer from the wing to give the Tigers their largest lead of the game at 32-24, garnering cheers from the passionate crowd. South Carolina responded with Cardoso’s 8th point of the quarter to make it a 32-26 halftime deficit.
The Gamecocks found success early in the second half with 5 consecutive points to make it a 1-point game. Boston scored the first 4 of those points after only recording 1 point in the entire first half.
After trading baskets for the next six minutes, South Carolina recaptured a 43-42 lead on junior guard Zia Cooke’s 3-pointer from the corner. The Gamecocks defense forced Missouri to take a tough shot as the shot-clock expired, but Beal fouled Hansen on the 3-point attempt. Hansen drained all three free throws to give Missouri a 2-point lead with 36 seconds remaining.
Frank fouled senior guard Destanni Henderson at the buzzer, giving South Carolina two free throws. Henderson made both shots to tie the game at 45-45 with one quarter to go. Boston and Cooke scored 6 points each in the period to bring the Gamecocks to a tie.
The fourth quarter featured a back-and-forth fight with the Tigers scoring the first 5 points of the period and South Carolina responding with 3 points of its own. Missouri drained two more 3-pointers to give itself a 56-50 lead with 6:41 remaining.
The teams traded baskets once again, leading to a 62-56 Missouri advantage with 2:52 left in the game. The Gamecocks capitalized on an offensive rebound and a steal to tie the game at 62-62 with 1:44 to go.
Free throw baskets by Dembele and Troup gave Missouri a 64-62 lead, but Boston grabbed her own rebound and scored a second-chance layup to tie the game with 22 seconds remaining. A turnover during the Tigers’ inbound gave South Carolina an opportunity to win the game at the buzzer. However, Cooke missed an awkward and off-balanced shot to send the game into overtime.
The Gamecocks won the tipoff in overtime, leading to a 3-point basket by Boston to start the extra period. Williams missed a layup on the opposite side of the court and South Carolina senior forward Victaria Saxton made a layup to increase the lead to 5 points.
“We came into overtime a little tired and lost,” Hansen said. “[But] it’s do or die at this point.”
Hansen responded on the following possession with a layup to bring Missouri within 3 points, but both teams failed to score for over two minutes before Frank made a layup to bring it within 1 point. Henderson missed a basket at the opposite end, while Hansen called a timeout with 14 seconds to go after grabbing her own blocked shot.
Dembele received the inbound pass and quickly handed it to Hansen at the top of the key. Hansen looked left, dribbled right and saw an opening in the lane. Frank provided a perfectly timed screen, allowing Hansen to drive to the basket and sink the go-ahead basket with 0.1 seconds remaining on the clock.
“My teammates [had] confidence in me to have the ball at the end of the game,” Hansen said. “It was really great because we all deserve that moment.”
South Carolina attempted a split-second shot, but the clock expired to give Missouri a historic victory in front of its largest crowd since 2019. The Tigers held the Gamecocks scoreless over the final 3:35 of overtime, while using a 6-0 run to seal the win.
“We didn’t stop believing for 45 minutes,” Frank said. “And that’s why we got the result we did.”
Missouri improved to 12-2 (1-0 SEC) with the upset victory, while South Carolina dropped its first game of the season.
Edited by Riley Gearhart | rgearhart@themaneater.com