SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — After a scoreless opening half, Destanni Henderson took over for No. 1 South Carolina to lift them to a comeback win over Gonzaga.
Henderson scored a career-high 23 points and Zia Cooke added 16 for the Gamecocks in a 79-72 win over the Zags. Henderson earned tournament MVP honors as she scored 19 points and had nine rebounds in the opening round win over South Dakota.
"I don't feel like I played my very best in the first half," Henderson said. "I pushed myself the second half and found some easy baskets. I just had to adjust to how the game was going. I couldn't get myself deep in foul trouble, and once I recognized that it got easier for my offense to be more aggressive without fouling."
She sat most of the second quarter after she picked up her second foul. In the third and fourth quarters, she was 6 for 12 from the floor and 10 for 13 from the free throw line.
After Jill Townsend's 3-pointer for Gonzaga gave the Bulldogs a 62-60 lead with six minutes to play, South Carolina (3-0) got the lead back up to eight in the final 90 seconds. The Bulldogs hit nine 3-pointers, including one by Cierra Walker with 54 seconds to play to cut it to 74-70.
South Carolina outscored the Bulldogs 17-8 in the final five minutes.
It was the second straight game that South Carolina was challenged. The Gamecock defeated South Dakota by 10 on Saturday before holding off Gonzaga.
"I don't think a whole lot of teams would come out of here undefeated with the talent that was here," South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. "Those were challenging opponents. Challenging. Some people won't play teams like this because you're susceptible to losing. It was good that this core group of players found their edge."
