South Carolina women's basketball: Aliyah Boston leads historic win over UConn

South Carolina Women’s Basketball: News • Recruiting • Schedule • Roster • Stats • SEC • Polls • Scholarships

Aliyah Boston scored a season-high 26 points and South Carolina erased a double-digit deficit to beat UConn 81-77.

Boston was 0-5 in the first half with just three points and three rebounds. Along with South Carolina’s bench, Boston wore down UConn in the second half. She had nine points and five rebounds in the third quarter, and then 14 points in the fourth quarter, finishing with a season-high 26 points and 11 rebounds.

The win gave South Carolina its first victory at UConn and made the Gamecocks 23-0 for the first time in program history. South Carolina also tied the program record with its 29th-straight win.

In a pivotal sequence, UConn had the ball down 65-59. Geno Auriemma got upset South Carolina wasn’t called for a foul and charged onto the court, throwing his water bottle in the process. He was called for a technical foul. Boston hit both free throws and then made a baseline jumper. Instead of potentially cutting the deficit to three or four points, UConn now trailed by ten. 

Become a “FAM” Member and support South Carolina women’s basketball players

Boston hit a three moments later that put South Carolina up 12 with less than three minutes to play. That seemed to put the game out of reach, but then Kamilla Cardoso, who had an otherwise great game, slammed the ball after fouling out, drawing a technical foul. UConn turned it into a four-point possession and got back in the game.

UConn was forced to foul to prolong the game, and South Carolina obliged by only making 13-18 free throws in the fourth quarter. A three-point play by Aubrey Griffin with ten seconds left pulled UConn 

UConn came out hot, and a running, banked-in three at the first-quarter buzzer gave the Huskies an 11-point lead. UConn shot 61.5% in the first quarter, nearly doubling up South Carolina’s 31.3%.

But UConn has struggled in recent second quarters, the same frame that South Carolina has consistently won all season. True to form, South Carolina locked up UConn defensively and held the Huskies to just 3-11 shooting. Behind Kamilla Cardoso and Laeticia Amihere, South Carolina crashed the offensive boards and chipped away at the deficit. A putback by Cardoso at the end of the half tied the game at 34.

UConn dressed just eight players, and played only six until the final seconds. South Carolina did not go as deep into its bench as it normally does, but still went nine deep and got 37 points off the bench. 

Subscribe to Gamecock Central until Aug. 31 for only $29.99

Cardoso had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Amihere had six points and four rebounds. Raven Johnson had perhaps the biggest impact of all. She scored a career-high 14 points, tied her career-high with seven assists, and played a career-high 36 minutes with no turnovers. She outplayed UConn’s Nika Mühl, one of the nation’s top point guards, who had 11 points and four rebounds. 

Aaliyah Edwards had 25 points to lead the Huskies. The Gamecocks had no answer for her defensively but were able to get Edwards into foul trouble and limit her to 28 minutes. Lou Lopez Sénéchal added 19 points and five rebounds before fouling out. Aubrey Griffin had 17 points. 

BOX SCORE

Notes:

Johnson’s seven assists equaled UConn’s team total of seven. … South Carolina controlled the glass, with 35 second-chance points off 25 offensive rebounds, and a 42-30 rebounding advantage. … Kierra Fletcher only played four minutes, all in the first quarter. … South Carolina only committed six turnovers. UConn had 13. … Aliyah Boston braids report: Boston continued to wear blue braids with teal highlights. … Dawn Staley fit report: Staley wore a kelly green throwback Eagles hoodie. … Announced attendance was 15,564, a sellout. … South Carolina’s next game is Thursday at Auburn.

Discuss South Carolina women’s basketball on The Insiders Forum!