South Carolina women's basketball advances to the Final Four

South Carolina women’s basketball dominated inside to beat Creighton 80-50 and advance to the Final Four.

South Carolina will be making its fourth Final Four appearance and second in a row. All four appearances have been in the last eight years (and seven tournaments).

South Carolina outrebounded Creighton 43-23 and had a 42-22 advantage in points in the paint. The Gamecocks attempted 27 free throws compared to just five for the Bluejays, and held them to 37.5% shooting overall and 7-21 from three. South Carolina shot 50.9% from the floor. Individually, Aliyah Boston scored 19 points, Brea Beal had 12, and Victaria Saxton had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Laeticia Amihere and Kamilla Cardoso each had nine points off the bench. 

South Carolina established itself inside right from the jump ball. Boston got the ball on each of the first few possessions, and even though Creighton gave her a different look each time, Boston scored or set up a basket. But Creighton was able to hang around for the first quarter and trailed just 25-18 when South Carolina found another gear. 

“We knew they were going to crowd Aliyah, which would have made it single coverage with our other big,” Dawn Staley said. “And once they had single coverage, we wanted them to go. And then as the game was going on, they were doubling Aliyah before she had the ball, when she got the ball. And then it created scoring opportunities for Brea Beal and Lele (Grissett) and some of our other guards, and Henny. Once we have single coverage and we know that they’re not going to rotate over because they’re going to lean heavy on keeping two people on Aliyah, it made it a lot easier for us to make decisions and make baskets.”

Destannin Henderson hit a three and Boston and Amihere made layups. Creighton answered with a basket and forced a turnover when several players were able to tie-up Amihere. 

Amihere appeared furious that no foul was called, but instead of sulking she locked in on defense. Amihere nearly forced a turnover, and that fired up the overwhelming Gamecock crowd. Amidst the roar, Creighton missed a long three and South Carolina turned the game into a rout.

Brea Beal muscled through contact for a layup and foul and then Amihere blew by a defender for a layup. Boston added a layup and then she and Amihere combined for three free throws. Beal made another layup to cap the 19-2 run.

“Their pressure was really good, especially coming out of the gates,” said Lauren Jensen. “I feel like that was an adjustment for us. We knew it was going to be hard. But they were denying and getting up on everyone. I feel like we settled in a little bit. Our second quarter was a little rough there. We went on a big scoring drought, but that was tough for us.”

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South Carolina led by 21 at halftime and 24 early in the third, but wasn’t as committed to getting the ball into the post and a 9-3 Creighton run gave the Bluejays life. So South Carolina went to its bread and butter: the low post. Boston scored the next five points and then Amihere converted a three-point play. Cardoso added a free throw to cap a 9-0 run that gave South Carolian its biggest lead of the game.

“They do a really good job of getting the ball in the middle of the floor. And now you’ve kind of got an either/or situation on a duck in, and they split our traps. I mean, we — you know, we didn’t do a good job of forming a trap that they couldn’t split,” Creighton’s Jim Flanery said. “It’s accumulation of all their bigs. It’s not just (Boston). I mean, like I said, Saxton really hurt us, Amihere hurt us. And, you know, the other part was we gave up some threes to the shooters in that first half that I thought really hurt us.”

WBB Analysis: Creighton

By that point, the only drama left was whether Boston would get her double-double. There weren’t the usual offensive rebounds to grab because South Carolina shot so well. She had four rebounds at halftime and seven at the end of the third. Staley gave her two minutes in the fourth to get the last three but then sat her down. Boston finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, an assist, and a block. Her streak ended at 27 games, and she still leads the nation with 28 double-doubles.

“We’re on to the Final Four,” Boston said. “So as the streak ends, it’s all right. But we’re still playing. So that’s all that matters.”

Beal scored a season-high 12 points. It was just her second double-figure scoring game of the season, and she entered the game with just 13 total points in the tournament and went scoreless against North Carolina. But with Creighton so focused on Boston, there was room for Beal to get to the rim and when she got there she was bigger and stronger than the Creighton defenders.

“This game we definitely made adjustments as far as me and Lele, they’re sagging on us,” Beal said. “What else could we do, which was drive to the basket, drive and kick. So I think as a team we did make some great adjustments.”

Notes:

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey attended the game. … Prior to the NCAA sponsoring women’s basketball, South Carolina also made an AIAW Final Four in 1980. … South Carolina committed just seven turnovers, and four came in the fourth quarter after the starters were pulled from the game. … The Greensboro All-Region team is Emily Ryan, Deja Kelley, Lauren Jensen, Destanni Henderson, and Aliyah Boston (Most Outstanding Player). … Saniya Rivers made her NCAA Tournament debut. … Jensen led Creighton with 12 points. … Announced attendance was 6,579. … South Carolina will play the winner of the Louisville-Michigan game Friday in Minneapolis.