KNOXVILLE — Markeshia Grant scored 27 points as South Carolina beat eighth-ranked Tennessee 64-60 Thursday night for the Gamecocks’ first win over the Lady Volunteers since 1980.
The Gamecocks (18-5, 7-3 SEC) were down 60-55 when Ashley Bruner hit a layup with 3:18 to play. The basket launched a 9-0 run for South Carolina to close out the game, and Ieasia Walker hit the go-ahead layup with 2:15 to play.
The Lady Vols led 57-50 with 5:02 remaining in the back-and-forth game, but a layup by Walker and a 3-pointer by Grant, one of seven by the senior, fired up the Gamecocks bench. Tennessee remained flat the rest of the way and missed five shots during South Carolina’s game-ending run.
Tennessee outshot South Carolina 41.4 percent to 39.4 percent and held a 44-36 advantage in rebounding but had little answer for the Gamecocks guards. La’Keisha Sutton added 12 points and Walker had 11.
Glory Johnson scored 13 points to lead Tennessee (16-6, 7-2). Ariel Massengale scored 12, and Shekinna Stricklen grabbed 10 rebounds.