#1 South Carolina advanced to the Sweet 16 with a dominant defense and a 59-42 win over #8 Oregon State.

Oregon State entered the tournament on a tear, winners of nine of their last 11, and the only losses coming to Stanford. The Beavers led the nation in three-point shooting at 40.8% this season, but upped it to 46% over the last 11 games. They never had a chance against the Gamecocks.

South Carolina held Oregon State to 31.6% shooting and 15.8% from three. Oregon State had its lowest scoring total of the season and tied for the fewest field goals, fewest threes made and lowest three-point percentage.

“We put a lot of energy into making sure they didn’t get off and be as efficient as they usually are,” Dawn Staley said. “We went out and played gritty, led by Destanni Henderson who got underneath (point guard and leading scorer Aleah) Goodman and made her think about our pressure more than wanting to attack and score and distribute the basketball.”

“We knew that they were a great three-point shooting team,” Aliyah Boston said. “Coach talked to us about contesting every shot, no matter if you think you’re late, and we’ve got to chase them off everything. She also said she’d rather they two us than three us so that’s what we tried to do.”

It took the Gamecocks about a quarter-and-a-half to settle down. Aliyah Boston was single-handedly keeping South Carolina in the game, with eight points. The game was tied at 16 in the second quarter and South Carolina was shooting just 6-23. But from that point on, the game belonged to South Carolina.

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Boston scored three points to break the tie, and then Zia Cooke hit a jumper. The Gamecocks turned up the defensive pressure, and Destanni Henderson and Laeticia Amihere each got layups off steals. Victoria Saxton blocked a couple of shots, and South Carolina finished the half on a 14-2 run that included seven points off six turnovers and while Oregon State missed nine of its last ten shots. Aside from the first three points, Boston was on the bench cheerleading for most of the run.

“That was so exciting,” she said. “We had the bench turnt. We were going crazy.”

South Carolina came out of halftime with the same energy. Oregon State’s first offensive possession ended with a steal that led to a layup by Cooke, and then Henderson and Boston scored inside as South Carolina doubled-up Oregon State, 36-18.

“When we got in the lockerroom we talked about we need to come out in the third quarter and play with energy,” Boston said. “We knew they would probably hit some threes so we had to hit first.”

South Carolina led by as much as 26 in the third quarter, and Oregon State didn’t crack 30 points until the fourth quarter. The Gamecocks went into a prevent offense in the fourth quarter which made the final score closer than the game really was, as South Carolina was content to run out the shot clock and get rest for its starters.

For the second game in a row, South Carolina grabbed at least 50 rebounds, outrebounding Oregon State by 18. Boston did most of the board work against Mercer, grabbing 18 of South Carolina’s record-tying 52. Tuesday was more balanced. Boston had just seven rebounds, all in the second half. But Brea Beal had a game-high 11, Amihere had nine, Destiny Littleton had seven, and Saxton had six.

“Coach always talks to us about dominating the boards,” Boston said. “That’s something we talk about before every game. We do a great job of everybody crashing and trying to give us more opportunities.”

Notes:

The fewest points South Carolina has allowed in a tournament game is 40, by #16 UNC Asheville in 2017. … Henderson went scoreless against Mercer, her first scoreless game in two years. She was determined not to let it happen again: she took the Gamecocks first two shot attempts and finished with 12 points. … Oregon State also had its worst free throw shooting percentage of the season (3-6), but I don’t think the South Carolina defense can take credit for that. Staley and Oregon State coach Scott Rueck received double technicals in the fourth quarter as the benches started yelling at each other. Staley could be heard on the television broadcast saying, “"We're saying the same thing they're saying. We don't do that." It wasn’t clear what she was upset about, and the coaches talked things out after the game. … Saxton tied her career-high with five blocks. … South Carolina advances to the Sweet 16 to play #5 Georgia Tech.