HARTFORD, Conn. — Aliyah Boston scored 23 of her 26 second-half points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, to help No. 1 South Carolina beat fifth-seeded UConn 81-77 on Sunday.
The Gamecocks (23-0) have won 29 straight games since losing to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament title game last year.
They have won four of their last five encounters with the Huskies, including a win in last season’s NCAA championship game. That ended UConn’s perfect 11-0 record in title games.
South Carolina once again used its size to outperform the Huskies. The 6-foot-7 Kamilla Cardoso and reigning AP Player of the Year Boston helped the Gamecocks to a 42-30 advantage on the boards, including 25 offensive rebounds.
Boston finished the 76th double-double of her career with 11 rebounds. Cardoso added 17 points and 11 rebounds before fouling.
Boston took over with their team leading by four in the fourth quarter. She scored South Carolina’s next 12 points, two of which came when UConn coach Geno Auriemma, frustrated with the administration, received a technical foul for sticking a water bottle on the court.
Boston hit the two free throws. She then hit a jumper, a 3-pointer and another basket to give the Gamecocks a double-digit advantage, much to the disappointment of the sell-out crowd — the first at the XL Center since 2017.
Though the outnumbered Huskies (21-3) saw their beginning backcourt rotten, they didn’t walk away. They cut the lead to 80-77 by 10.8 seconds over Aubrey Griffin’s three-pointer.
Raven Johnson hit the first of two free throws a second later and UConn failed to end the game
Aaliyah Edwards led UConn by 25 points.
UConn got off to a solid start, beating South Carolina 25-14 in the opening stages. Lou Lopez Senechal capped off the strong start by hitting a running 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
South Carolina maintained its size in the second quarter, with Cardoso scoring 11 points over the period. Her putback by just under 10 seconds tied the game in half at 34 heads.
TIP INS:
UConn is 8-10 against all-time No. 1 teams. … The Huskies are missing guard Azzi Fudd (knee), Caroline Ducharme (concussion) as well as Paige Bueckers (knee) and Ice Brady (knee), both of whom are out for the season. … Many former UConn players were in the crowd, including Sue Bird, Jen Rizzotti and Napheesa Collier, who sat a few rows behind the Huskies bench. … South Carolina has played 41-6 against ranked teams since the start of the 2019-20 season. … The Gamecocks bench surpassed UConn 37-0.
NEXT:
South Carolina: Visits Auburn on Thursday before a showdown with LSU No. 3 on Feb. 12
UConn: visits Marquette on Wednesday.
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