In a rematch of the previous season’s national championship game, South Carolina again came out on top over UConn thanks to a strong fourth quarter by Aliyah Boston.
Geno Auriemma stepped onto the court to toss a water bottle, which helped him as well.
Boston scored 23 of its 26 points in the second half, including 14 in the final period, to help the No. 1 Gamecocks beat the fifth-ranked Huskies 81-77 on Sunday.
South Carolina coach Don Staley said, “Aliyah is just relentless, she plays tirelessly, even though she had a subpar (first half) statistically, she affected the game.” “She doesn’t panic. She knew she didn’t live up to her standards. What does she do? Raise her bar. Whether she has a bad first half or not, she’s going to keep playing.”
While there wasn’t as much on the line as the title game last April, it had higher intensity, including Auriemma getting a technical late in the fourth quarter after getting frustrated enough to throw a bottle.
“I thought a lot of things were being overlooked. It was difficult for some of our guys to get out on the floor,” UConn coach Auriemma said. “I didn’t think it was an important play, I couldn’t keep quiet any longer. It was sad. … Dumb mistake by me. Bad decision.”
The Gamecocks (23-0) have won 29 consecutive games since losing to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament title game last year. He has won four of the last five meetings with the Huskies, including a victory in the NCAA championship game last season. This ended UConn’s perfect 11–0 record in title games.
“It was a game like a national championship. I wanted us to feel what it takes to do that,” Staley said.
Now South Carolina’s win in Connecticut comes after they’ve never won before.
South Carolina again used its size to put the Huskies on top. 6-foot-7 Kamila Cardoso and Boston — the AP Player of the Year — helped the Gamecocks hold a 42-30 advantage on the board, including 25 offensive rebounds.
Boston completed his 76th career double-double with 11 rebounds. Cardoso added 17 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out.
With his team leading by four in the fourth quarter, Boston took over. He scored the next 12 points for South Carolina, two of them coming when Auriemma threw a water bottle on the court and was called a technical foul.
Boston hit two free throws. He then hit a jumper, a 3-pointer and another basket to give the Gamecocks a two-point advantage.
“I’m in attack mode. I took more shots in the second half than I did in the first half,” Boston said.
Despite seeing their starting backcourt misfire, the short-handed Huskies (21-3) didn’t go far. They cut the lead to 80–77 with 10.8 seconds remaining on Aubrey Griffin’s three-point play.
Raven Johnson later hit the first of two free throws and UConn could not convert to close the game.
“Once they feel lost in the past, they have a lot to feel good about,” Auriemma said. “I feel better at 3 today than I did at 12. I didn’t know how we would react. I just knew we would work hard and compete like hell. I didn’t know who would come out bigger. Who’s going to make the play, who’s going to get the big rebound, who’s going to make the big shot. I know more now than I did at noon and I feel better about my team.”
Aaliyah Edwards led UConn with 25 points.
UConn got off to a solid start, defeating South Carolina 25–14 in the opening round. Lou López Senechal started off strong, hitting a rushing 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
South Carolina took the lead in the second quarter with Cardoso scoring 11 points in the period. His putback with just under 10 seconds left tied the game at 34 heading into the half.