Aliyah Boston led #1 South Carolina back from an 11-point first half deficit to beat #13 LSU 66-60.

LSU sprinted out of the gates and made its first seven shots of the game. While the Tigers couldn’t miss, South Carolina struggled with turnovers and then foul trouble. Boston picked up her second foul early in the second quarter on a dubious whistle, and had to sit for the final five minutes of the half.

While Boston was on the bench, LSU stretched its lead to 11 at 29-18, and Dawn Staley called timeout. Staley put the ball in Zia Cooke’s hands, and Cooke scored six points in the final two minutes to cut the halftime deficit to six.

With Boston back in the game, South Carolina cut down on the turnovers. After 13 in the first half, South Carolina had just six in the third quarter (while forcing four) and two in the fourth quarter. South Carolina opened the third quarter on an 8-1 run, tying the game on a layup by Boston and then taking the lead on a free throw by Brea Beal. The teams traded the lead, with LSU taking its final lead, 44-43 on a layup by Khayla Pointer, who led LSU with 22 points. South Carolina had not only weathered the LSU onslaught but taken control of the game after halftime.

“I looked on my phone and saw all the social media coaches,” Staley joked. “Sometimes you have to let the game settle down. We’re going to get everybody’s best effort.”

From that point on, it was Boston’s game. A free throw by Henderson tied the game, and then Boston made three free throws at the end of the quarter to give South Carolina a 47-44 lead going into the fourth. She scored to open the fourth, forced a miss, and then found Henderson open for three. She answered a 4-0 Tiger run with her own 4-0 run. She forced misses, she grabbed rebounds, she blocked shots, and she made free throws.

With 13.2 seconds left, the Gamecocks led 64-60. Victaria Saxton missed both free throws, but Boston, surrounded by three Tigers, went high for the rebound. She secured it and passed out to Henderson, who made both free throws to seal the win.

Boston finished with her eighth consecutive double-double, going for 19 points, 18 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. She had nine points, seven rebounds, and two blocks in the fourth quarter alone. At one point in the fourth quarter, Boston had 14 rebounds, and LSU had 17. She was 7-10 from the line, making as many free throws as LSU attempted as a team.

“I’m super happy we have Aliyah and nobody else in the country has her,” Staley said. “She was everything for us. She scored, she rebounded the basketball, she played through fatigue, she got beat up down there.”

South Carolina was without Laeticia Amihere and Kamilla Cardoso, its top two reserves, leaving Boston, Saxton, and little-used freshman Sania Feagin as the only front court players. Even with LSU frequently rotating its bigs to try to wear down Boston, it was Boston who wore down the Tigers. Faustine Aifuwa and Autumn Newby each fouled out guarding Boston. After Boston’s second foul, Staley angrily complained that LSU was initiating the contact on Boston, and the officials agreed. LSU was called for 23 fouls, compared to 13 for South Carolina, and South Carolina was 18-32 from the line, while LSU was just 3-7. South Carolina doubled up LSU on the glass, 48-24.

Cooke finished with 17 points. Henderson had 16, 12 in the second half.

Notes:

Before the game LSU recognized former great Seimone Augustus. … Destiny Littleton and Elysa Wesolek did not play. … Olivia Thompson also did not make the trip. … With the bench so short-handed, South Carolina got just one point (Grissett) from the reserves. Feagin did chip in four rebounds and a nice assist. … LSU only had two bench points, from Hannah Gusters. … Announced attendance was 9,190. … South Carolina’s next game is Sunday against Kentucky.

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