Written by Niner Times intern Stephanie Smith

The Charlotte 49ers (1-7) women’s basketball team traveled to South Carolina (7-0) on Thursday, Dec. 4 to take on the No. 1 Gamecocks.  South Carolina was eyeing win number seven while Charlotte was looking to end their losing skid with a marquee win.  Ultimately, the Gamecocks continued their winning streak by beating the 49ers 82-61.

From the opening tip both teams brought energy, toughness and grit as they battled back and forth exchanging baskets.  Charlotte’s Olivia Rankin started hot from the field by providing six key points in the first minutes of the game to give the 49ers offense a lift. The Gamecocks relied on Alania Coates and A’ja Wilson to spark their offense.

Charlotte was able to hang tough with the number one ranked team for the first 10 minutes by hitting high percentage shots.  Both teams battled back and forth and neither team was able to go ahead by more than five points.

The last five minutes of the half were a different story. Lack of rebounding and turnovers plagued the Charlotte offense as South Carolina went on an 18-2 run that would push the lead to 41-24.

Charlotte was forced to call multiple timeouts in hopes of stalling the Gamecocks momentum while trying to regain the offensive rhythm they had at the start of the game. Charlotte went 2-13 from the field and had only six rebounds to close out the half.  Offensively they were led by Lefty Webster with eight points and Hilary Sigmon who chipped in with five points.

South Carolina dominated the end of the first half and was led by Coates who had 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists.  As a team the Gamecocks shot 57 percent from the field, grabbed 23 rebounds and dished out 13 assists.

Going into the half, the Gamecocks had pushed their lead to 46-28 and were 20 minutes closer to capturing a milestone win for Coach Stanley.

Charlotte came out of the half on a mission.  They went on a 12-4 run to cut the Gamecock lead to 13. The 49ers tried to chip away at the lead; however, the offensive fire power of South Carolina proved too much for Charlotte.

All was not lost in the second half for Charlotte.  Rankin was able to match her career-high with eight points, Ayanna Holmes dished out a career-high eight assists and as a team the 49ers were able to score 61 points against the Gamecocks which only two other teams have done this season.

“If we can eliminate those five or six minutes where we lost focus and South Carolina was able to go on a run, the lead would have been down to single digits.  Tonight proves that we can go toe-to-toe with the one of the best teams in the nation,” said 49ers Head Coach Cara Consuegra on Charlotte’s performance.

Webster had a team-high 17 points and sharp shooter Sigmon went 3-3 from beyond the arc to finish with 13 points.

As time windled away South Carolina showed why they were ranked number one.  The Gamecocks were able to stretch their lead to 21 points and continue their undefeated start to the 2015 season with an 82-61 over the 49ers.

“We’ve got to take this as a learning experience and come back and be better,” said Rankin after the hard fought loss.

“She was locked into the game and executed our game plan. She is one of our leaders and we really value her,” said Consuegra when asked about Rankin.

The 49ers look to rebound at home when they take on Charleston Southern on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m.