#1 South Carolina got back to what it does best and cruised to a 74-54 win over #21 Kentucky.

It was a vintage performance by the Gamecocks. They dominated the glass, got to the rim and scored at will, and harassed and frustrated Rhyne Howard and the Wildcats. They also cut down on the turnovers, which may have been the most important thing.

South Carolina had 18 turnovers in an otherwise easy win over Mississippi State and then 21 against LSU, keeping the Tigers in a game they otherwise controlled. South Carolina turned the ball over just 12 times, with seven of those coming in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach.

Zia Cooke, who was celebrating her 21st birthday, led all scorers with 19 points. It was her third straight game with at least 17 points after a month-long shooting slump. She had 11 points in the third quarter, when South Carolina put the game away.

“That just comes from me staying the course and not getting down on myself,” Cooke said. “Even when I wasn’t playing so well I continued to do what I did best and keep working hard.”

But South Carolina’s front court did most of the work. Aliyah Boston had 18 points on 9-12 shooting, 15 rebounds, five blocks, and two assists. She did it all without committing a foul or turnover. It was her ninth-consecutive double-double, tying the program record set in 1978.

“It’s a lot of sleepless nights for the head coaches in the conference, trust me,” said Kyra Elzy. “I was sleepless last night thinking about how you can defend Aliyah Boston.”

Photos: Gamecocks victorious over Wildcats

“She’s not like anyone else. I know A’ja Wilson is going to read these quotes and get mad. I know A’ja didn’t think about basketball as much as Aliyah thinks about basketball,” Dawn Staley said. “I like seeing Aliyah doing TikToks because I know she’s actually doing something besides basketball and you need to take a break, you need balance.”

Victoria Saxton added 12 points and nine rebounds and Kamilla Cardoso had four points and five rebounds. South Carolina scored 54 of its 74 points in the paint (with another nine from the foul line). South Carolina was 20-33 on layups, grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and had a 55-37 rebounding edge, wearing down undersized Kentucky.

“We weren’t going to back down. That was the message. But the margin for error is so small against a team like South Carolina,” Elzy said. “Us having to bang so hard early, I thought our bigs started to get fatigued.”

The game pitted the preseason and two-time defending SEC Player of the Year Howard against Boston, the frontrunner for national player of the year and SEC player of the year. If Howard was going to make her claim, it never materialized. She scored just nine points on 2-14 shooting, although Howard did have eight rebounds and six assists. She had just three points going into the fourth quarter and was limited by the tandem of Brea Beal and Bree Hall.

Beal has had success slowing Howard in the past, but Hall’s performance was a surprise. She played a career-high 23 minutes, and didn’t allow Howard to score against her until the fourth quarter. Hall added five points, making her first baskets since the NC A&T game.

“We’ve got to give a shout out to both the Brees on our team,“ Cooke said. “They did their part. They locked down.”

Notes:

Cooke said she wasn’t sure how she would celebrate her birthday, only that something was happening at 6:00 and she had to be there. … South Carolina had its most complete roster in a long time. Only Laeticia Amihere was unavailable while she is still in health and safety protocols. Olivia Thompson was in uniform but did not play. … Before the game Cooke and Boston were presented with their 1,000 point basketballs. They hit the mark against Maryland, the first time in program history two players reached the milestone in the same game. … South Carolina was just 3-17 from three. Destanni Henderson was 1-6. Kentucky 7-18 from three, but started 5-7. … Announced attendance was 12,327. … South Carolina’s next game is Thursday against Texas A&M.

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