Destanni Henderson scored 22 points and Aliyah Boston added 20, including 10 in the third quarter to put 5th in South Carolina ahead to stay while the Gamecocks recovered for a 75-70 victory over No. 10 Kentucky on the night of Sunday.
Gamecocks lost 41-32 in the break and 54-46 at the end of the third before closing the fourth with a 11-2 run, including 5 from Boston, for their first advantage from the opening minutes.
Boston and Henderson added 4 points each during a 12-2 spurt to open fourth place that helped resist the late Kentucky rally.
Chasity Patterson scored 8 consecutive points to put Kentucky 69-68. LeLe Grissett responded with a baseline drive and Boston made a tray before Zia Cooke sealed with 2 free throws with 10.3 seconds remaining.
South Carolina, which took first place (8-1, 3-0 Southeastern Conference), took fifth place in a few days after postponing a game against Georgia because of a positive coronavirus test in the program.
Rhyne Howard had 32 points and Patterson and Dre’Una Edwards 12 each for the Wildcats (9-3, 2-2 SEC), who lost their second consecutive game in an extension of 4 games against the top 15 opponents.
The Gamecocks are scheduled for a trip to Nashville to face Vanderbilt on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 8 pm Eastern Time, with the game broadcast on SEC Network +.
