#1 South Carolina got Aliyah Boston back from injury and dominated #25 Arkansas inside for a 86-65 win Thursday night in Fayetteville.
Boston had 19 points, 25 rebounds, and five blocks in the first game against Arkansas, but it was uncertain if she would play in the rematch after she suffered a foot injury in the third quarter against Tennessee last Sunday. When the starting lineups were announced, Boston was in her normal spot, and she picked up where she left off, grabbing three rebounds in the first 90 seconds.
The Gamecocks jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never trailed. The Razorbacks made several runs, but each time the Gamecocks answered and the lead got bigger. Early on, the Razorbacks played a zone defense, and the Gamecocks found the weak spots for open threes. When the threes stopped falling, the Gamecocks went inside to Boston and Mikiah Herbert Harrigan.
Herbert Harrigan scored a season-high 23 points and tied her season-high with nine rebounds. "Mad KiKi" made an appearance in the fourth quarter after a spat with Rokia Doumbia that earned double technicals. Herbert Harrigan responded by scoring six of South Carolina's final eight points to secure the win. Boston shot 7-8 from the floor, only missing her final try, and scored 18 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and blocked seven shots. Herbert Harrigan and Boston led South Carolina’s interior game, and Arkansas had no answer. South Carolina outscored Arkansas 50-28 in the paint, was plus-26 rebounding, and had 24 second-chance points off 19 offensive rebounds.
Defensively, South Carolina did a good job challenging Arkansas’ shooters, holding the Razorbacks to 7-21 from three and 36 percent shooting overall. Chelsea Dungee scored nine straight points late in the second quarter, but other than that hot streak, South Carolina held her in check. Dungee started the game 1-7 shooting, and finished just 7-25.
Zia Cooke added 14 points for South Carolina, and Tyasha Harris and Destanni Henderson each scored nine.
