COLUMBIA, S.C. - A weak shooting second half left the Blue Hose unable to cut into a 11-point South Carolina halftime lead as the Gamecocks downed PC 68-40 at the Colonial Life Center.  Presbyterian College trailed 32-21 at the intermission but a 15-2 run to start the second half for South Carolina was the difference.       

"It felt like the effort was there tonight," said head coach Ronny Fisher.  "We just had a stretch at the start of the second half where they were able to pull away.  South Carolina made some big shots and we weren't able to convert ours at the other end of the floor."

South Carolina established an early nine-point lead at the 14:53 mark before Sherece Smith (Clemson, S.C.) drained the first of her six first half points to set a new career high in the opening period.  She would finish the night with eight points to share top scorer honors.

The Gamecocks led by as many as 14 inside seven minutes until the Blue Hose staged a quick 7-0 rally to cut the lead in half going into the final media timeout of the first half.  Kristen Stevens' (Pickerington, Ohio) three-point basket, PC's first of the night, closed the run.  Stevens scored eight points on the night off the bench.

South Carolina extended the lead back to 11 points going into the halftime break.  PC shot .417 from the field in the opening period to South Carolina's .522 mark.

A pair of baskets from beyond the arc gave South Carolina its largest lead of the night after the intermission.  Treys from La'Keishia Sutton and Ieasia Walker gave the Gamecocks a 38-21 lead as Fisher was forced to take a timeout at the 18:59 mark.  The run would give South Carolina a 22 point lead at 17:39 and was snapped by a free throw by Dria David (Lawrenceville, Ga.).  The sophomore would also score eight points on the night to share the three-way lead for the Blue Hose in scoring.

PC scored its first field goal of the second half when Chelsea Parker (Asheville, N.C.) converted a shot from inside the lane at the 13:25 mark.

The Blue Hose scored just one field goal in the first 12 minutes of the second half (1-for-11) but rebounded down the stretch for a 5-for-11 performance in the final eight minutes of the game. 

South Carolina led by as many as 32 points inside five minutes by a pair of late three-pointers helped to trim the final margin to 68-40.  The 28-point margin equaled PC's largest win of the season, a 28-point triumph over Erskine on Nov. 16.  PC tallied a .273 field goal percentage in the final minutes to post a .348 average for the game.  South Carolina shot a nearly identical .520 in the second half to finish the game at .521. 

Devin Fothergill (Somerset, Ky.) notched a season-high assists with four.  PC was outrebounded 32-25 in the game as South Carolina took a 16-7 lead in second chance points.  The Gamecocks ruled the paint with a 30-18 advantage in scoring inside the lane.

"Hats off to South Carolina," added Fisher.  "They showed us the weaknesses that we need to work on going into conference play."

PC will return home on short rest for a Thursday afternoon matinee against future Big South foe Campbell.  The Blue Hose and Camels square off starting at 5 p.m.  Admission is free to the final home basketball game of 2010.

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