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Selects / Gamecocks Destroy Duke

South Carolina guard Zia Cooke (1), Tyasha Harris, left, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (21), and Aliyah Boston (4) celebrate a three-point basket Thursday night against Duke. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)

Selects / Gamecocks Destroy Duke

It was close for the first few minutes last night at Colonial Life Arena between #5 South Carolina and Duke, but by halftime competition was minimal and the Gamecocks eventually thumped the Blue Devils 89-46. Dawn Staley’s crew forced 30 turnovers with six players scoring in double figures. This team is good.

I've been photographing NCAA women’s basketball at USC off and on for 22 years now and when I was a student the team was really bad — and while making $30 a week at The Gamecock Newspaper, it was a good way to get a few extra free meals of chicken tenders each week during the season. I miss the pimento cheese sandwich triangles. I think those came at halftime and now it’s bags of chips and granola bars.

I had three bags of chips last night because I sat directly next to the halftime snacks. I hadn’t had that many chips in six months. I should avoid that spot in future. On Sunday at noon, South Carolina hosts #25 ranked South Dakota. If you are interested in reading captions, or licensing the use of these images (or dozens more from the game) you can do that here.

South Carolina guard LeLe Grissett watches the video screen during player introductions before an NCAA college basketball game against South Carolina Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019, in Columbia, S.C. South Carolina defeated Duke 89-46. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)

“Selects” is a series from Soda Citizen featuring photos and insights from the photographer on an assignment or project. It may be background or technical information. All photos made on a Nikon D850 with 70-200 at f2.8 - Court action shot at ISO 4000 at 1/800.


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About the author:

Sean has been photographing South Carolina since 1997 when he joined the Gamecock Newspaper at the University of SC. He came to school to study computer science — but those classes sucked. After receiving a degree in Media Arts, Sean worked as an assistant manager at a record store, and began freelancing with the local daily newspaper. After few years and multiple gun-point hold-ups, Sean found a job tending bar at a small live music venue, balancing the service industry with freelance photography for over a decade. He lost his job after telling his boss off at the bar one night, and took on photography full time in 2015. Since then, Sean has become a regular contributor to Getty Images, The Associated Press, The New York Times and many others. You can see more of his work at www.seanrayford.com.

Book Columbia, SC photographer Sean Rayford for senior portrait sessions at the University of South Carolina