The South Carolina Gamecocks champion kicked off the NCAA tournament with a 79-53 victory over Mercer, highlighted by a powerful performance by Aliyah Boston and Dawn Staley achieving their 500th victory as a head coach.
Apart from the 16 Bears (19-7) who tied the game briefly at 27 in the second half, this was just Gamecocks. Boston, making her NCAAT debut, added 20 points and 18 rebounds as the best player in the game. Victaria Saxton also stood out for South Carolina, setting the career record with 20 points, and Zia Cooke had a good second time showing to end with 13.
Perhaps most crucially, Laeticia Amihere added a spark off the bench, contributing 11 points and eight rebounds. It is a good sign for the Gamecocks, as they will be without anchor LeLe Grissett for the tournament after she suffered a leg injury in the SEC championship game.
As for Staley, she now has 328 victories as the program’s best coach as the top coach in South Carolina and continues to fill her legacy as one of the sport’s greatest ever.
The Gamecocks (23-4) now face the eighth state of Oregon (12-7) at 7pm on Tuesday. The Beavers won No. 9 Florida State 83-59 to advance.