BATON ROUGE – In addition to the rainbow braids tied in a ponytail hanging on the back of South Carolina striker Aliyah Boston’s shirt, there was not much to differentiate the AP preseason All-American from its LSU competitors in most first three quarters.
And then, when a hotly contested game entered its final stages, 6-5 Boston was a powerful presence in both baskets, and a big reason why fourth-place Gamecocks’ winning streak had increased to nine games.
“You can’t keep a good player low,” said LSU coach Nikki Fargas. “She will find a way to get to her numbers because she is a competitor.”
Boston scored 11 of his 20 points in the final 141/2 minutes and grabbed 14 rebounds to help South Carolina secure a 69-65 victory over LSU on Sunday.
“She scored enough, hit the ball and made it easy,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said of Boston. “She played great minutes for us and I know she was probably tired.”
Destanni Henderson had 16 points and eight assists, while Zia Cooke had 11 points for South Carolina (12-1, 7-0 SEC), who won his 26th consecutive game against the conference competition.
Khayla Pointer scored 18 and Tiara Young 16 for the Tigers (6-7, 4-3), who defeated No. 8 Texas A&M earlier this month and looked set to stage their second loss against a top 10 team in two weeks, when they took an advantage in the fourth quarter.
DO NOT. 8 TEXAS A&M 70,
MISSOURI 66
COLUMBIA, Mo. – N’dea Jones and Ciera Johnson led a balanced attack with 14 points each and Jones had 18 rebounds in Texas A&M’s 8th victory over Missouri.
Jordan Nixon and Distiny Pitts made two free throws in the final 15 seconds to seal the victory.
Aaliyah Wilson added 13 points for Aggies (15-1, 6-1) and Pitts had 10.
Ladazhia Williams scored 20 points for the Tigers (5-5, 1-4), Aijha Black added 11 with 16 rebounds and Haley Troup scored 10.
DO NOT. 25 TENNESSEE 70,
DO NOT. 12 KENTUCKY 53
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee. – Tamari Key scored 19 points, the best of his career in 8 out of 10 shots, Rennia Davis added 15 points and the best of his career with 20 rebounds, and Tennessee beat Kentucky.
The Lady Vols (10-3, 4-1) took control in the third quarter, when Key scored the first six points of the second half to start an 11-1 run for a 38-23 lead. Tennessee scored the last eight points for a 49-31 lead in the fourth period, which started with a 9-1 run for a 26 point lead.
Chasity Patterson led Kentucky (11-4, 4-3) with 15 points.
DO NOT. 1 LOUISVILLE 65,
WAKE FOREST 63
WINSTON SALEM, NC – Dana Evans hit the nail on the head with a three-point play, 8.0 seconds left to help top-ranked Louisville avoid a big turnaround by holding Wake Forest.
Evans scored 25 points for Louisville (14-0, 7-0 ACC), who lost by nine in the middle of the fourth period before going in a 14-2 run to push back and create a tense finish.
Gina Conti scored 13 points, while Ivana Raca had 12 to lead the Demon Deacons (7-6, 4-5).
DO NOT. 2 NC STATE 89,
VIRGINIA TECH 87
RALEIGH, NC – Kai Crutchfield scored 10 of his 20 points in the last 4½ minutes, Jakia Brown-Turner finished with 23 points and the state of North Carolina recovered from 14 points below in the fourth period to remain undefeated.
Wolfpack (11-0, 6-0 ACC) had not played since January 3, and the three-week break came. The only absence related to coronavirus testing or contract tracking was large, with prominent central Elissa Cunane losing the game. She must be out at least in the next game, also against the Hokies.
Georgia Amoore’s three points with 4.4 seconds to play for Virginia Tech (7-7, 2-7) narrowed the gap to 88-87 before Raina Perez made a free throw for Wolfpack.
DO NOT. 6 STANFORD 86,
SOUTH CALIFORNIA 59
SANTA CRUZ, California – Haley Jones had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Kiana Williams dropped five points from three points on the way to 16 points and Stanford recovered from consecutive defeats to win the USC.
Freshman Cameron Brink caught nine rebounds and Anna Wilson seven rebounds and eight points, while the cardinal had a 53-22 lead in the cup.
The cardinal (12-2, 9-2 Pac-12) lost his previous two games by nine combined points.
Endiya Rogers scored 19 points to lead the USC (6-7, 4-6).
DO NOT. 13 OREGON 69,
WASHINGTON 52
EUGENE, Oregon. – Sedona Prince scored 16 points and blocked five shots, Lydia Giomi added 11 points and 10 rebounds from the reserve bench and the 13th Oregon defeated Washington.
Reserve Sydney Parrish added 12 points to the short-handed Ducks (11-3, 9-3 Pac-12).
Angela Dugalic scored 12 points out of 5 out of 7 shots with eight rebounds in her first career. Te-Hina Paopao scored 10 with 6 assists and 3 steals.
Haley Van Dyke scored 13 points to lead the Huskies (4-5, 1-5).
DO NOT. 16 INDIANA 74,
DO NOT. 21 NORTHWEST 61
EVANSTON, Illinois. – Mackenzie Holmes scored 22 points and had 10 rebounds and Indiana took over after losing 13 in the middle of the fourth period to beat Northwestern.
The Hoosiers (9-3, 7-1 Big Ten) came to life after Sydney Wood’s layup crowned a 10-0 streak to place the Wildcats at 49-36 at the 5:17 mark of the third quarter. Indiana held Northwestern without a field goal and closed with 54-48 at the end of the quarter.
Northwestern (8-3, 6-3) led 57-56 with 6:34 to go when the Hoosiers scored 12 consecutive points.
DO NOT. 20 GONZAGA 79,
PORTLAND 61
PORTLAND, Oregon. – Kayleigh Truong scored 17 points from a 6 out of 7 and Jenn Wirth scored 14 and Gonzaga, who came in 20th, defeated Portland in their 12th consecutive victory.
Jill Townsend de Gonzaga scored 11 and 10 different Bulldog players (12-2, 7-0 from the West Coast) entered the scoring column.
Haylee Andrews scored 25 points for Portland (7-5, 4-2).
CLEMSON 86,
DO NOT. 23 SYRACUSE 77, OT
CLEMSON, SC – Kendall Spray scored 24 points with seven three points, Amari Robinson added 23 and short-handed Clemson defeated Syracuse after breaking a 25-point lead at halftime. The Tigers were defeated 23-9 in the third quarter and 20-9 in the fourth before scoring 16 points in overtime to end a four-game losing streak and beat Orange for the first time in 10 attempts.
Delicia Washington scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Clemson (9-5, 4-5 ACC).
Kiara Lewis scored 25 points with eight rebounds and Emily Engstler added 17 and nine for Orange (7-3, 4-3).