CLEMSON – Rusne Augustinaite’s mom traveled over 5000 miles to watch her daughter score a season-high 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting in Clemson’s 83-54 win over the SMU Mustangs Thursday night.
The victory marked the Tigers’ 15th win this season, surpassing the win total of 14 from last year with eight guaranteed games still to play. Clemson also kept its perfect 2-0 record against SMU in ACC-play. As a final punctuation mark, 83-points marked Clemson’s highest score against an ACC team this season.
The Tigers (15-7, 6-4 ACC) turned the ball over in their first two possessions of the night, trailing 7-5 with 6:45 to play in the first quarter, but after guard Rachael Rose and forward Raven Thompson went on individual five-point runs to take a 15-9 lead, Clemson quickly reined in the Mustangs (8-14, 1-9 ACC) and never let go.
After Clemson led by as many as 10 points in the first quarter, SMU knocked down a deep three-pointer and a layup to cut the deficit to seven, but the Tigers’ post presence proved too much to handle.
In the first half, Clemson out-rebounded the Mustangs 23-to-8, scoring 12 second chance points to SMU’s four. The Tigers finished the second period with 22 points in the paint to SMU’s 12.
Forward Hadley Periman and center Demeara Hinds combined for 17 total rebounds and four blocks, while guard Mia Moore added nine boards of her own. Hinds tied her season-high rebound record of 10 and added seven points on 3-of-3 shooting.
The Tigers’ size and violence on the glass helped take the early lead, but an offensive explosion spearheaded by Augustinaite in the second quarter all but sealed an early victory. After knocking down Clemson’s first shot from beyond-the-arc, Augustinaite notched nine second quarter points on 4-of-7 shooting.
Thanks, in large part to Augustinaite, the Tigers entered the locker room at halftime with a 43-31 lead.
The Siaulia, Lithuania, native made sure the Mustangs could not trample the Tigers’ lead in the third quarter with another nine-point period, this time on perfect 3-of-3 shooting from long range.
With her mother beaming in the crowd and throughout the arena on the jumbotron, Augustinaite submitted a final 21-point, seven-rebound statline, both her best as a Tiger.
While Augustinaite scorched the Mustangs from long-range, guard Rachael Rose refused to miss in the paint, from three-point-range, and the charity stripe. The Scranton, Pa., native finished with 15 points on perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line.
On the other wing, Moore, a starting veteran, quietly had a 15 point night, capped off with six assists.
Thanks to Clemson’s 49.2% shooting from the field, the Tigers submitted their second-largest win in ACC-play so far this season.
Interesting Statistics
The Tigers won every quarter by at least five points, and every player finished in the positive +/-. Moore led all Tigers with a +26 finish. Seven Clemson players made at least one three-pointer, and every Tiger notched at least two rebounds.
Next Up
The Tigers will stay home during the predicted wintry weather this Sunday to take on the Florida State Seminoles (7-14, 2-7 ACC) at Littlejohn Coliseum. A win would mark the second time this season the Tigers have won three or more consecutive games in a row. Tip is set for 4 p.m. and coverage will be shown on the ACC Network.