By: Pete Iacobelli, Associated Press
Published: Monday 18 January 2021
COLOMBIA, SC – Aliyah Boston had 26 points, 16 rebounds and six blocks, and fourth-placed South Carolina defeated 15th Arkansas 104-82 on Monday night for the 24th straight win over SEC opponents.
On a day when South Carolina (10-1, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) celebrated its most famous pole player by dedicating a bronze statue of A’ja Wilson in the arena, the current strength of Gamecocks has taken control of things in victory the Razorbacks (11-5, 2-4).
The 6-foot-5 Boston held their fifth double-double of the season at half-time and the Gamecocks won for the 14th time in their last 15 meetings with Arkansas.
The Razorbacks and Chelsea Dungee were the last team in the league to beat South Carolina, winning 95-89 in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament two years ago. Gamecocks have not lost to a conference opponent since it included four encounters with Arkansas.
The Boston game was again a big reason. She had six points, eight rebounds and five blocks in the first quarter, when Gamecocks opened a 28-17 lead.
Behind Dungee, Razorbacks were able to keep things steady. Dungee had five points in a 9-2 explosion that cut South Carolina’s double-digit lead.
Arkansas lost 62-59 after Erynn Barnum’s basket at the end of the third quarter. That was when South Carolina scored nine consecutive points to gain control. Boston had a three-point play and another bucket in the race.
Dungee, the SEC’s top scorer, had 22 points to lead Arkansas.
Brea Beal scored 22 points, setting a career record in South Carolina, scoring points for the second game in a row, after the 17 points she won in the 106-43 victory at Vanderbilt on Thursday night.
Boston, a sophomore, had her 18th career game with double-digit points and rebounds.
THE GREAT IMAGE
Arkansas: The Razorbacks have struggled in the SEC game, losing to four teams currently ranked in their first six league games. The high-scoring dungee only had 8 out of 18 shots against the Gamecocks, and Arkansas will need more contributions to get things going in the difficult conference.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks look like a different team than they did in early December, when they had their only loss, 54-46, to second place in the state of North Carolina. Boston, Beal and Zia Cooke, from South Carolina, are playing at the championship level.
HONOR OF A’JA
Wilson was moved to tears at the dedication ceremony on MLK Day, remembering how his late grandmother had to walk around campus to get where she was going because she was black. Wilson would like to be alive to see “the same land that houses a statue of his granddaughter”. Wilson went three-time All-America with the Gamecocks, leading the team to three SEC titles and the NCAA Tournament title in 2017.
NEXT
Arkansas will be gone for a week before playing in Georgia’s 22nd place on January 25th.
South Carolina plays a rescheduled match with No. 22 Georgia on Thursday night.