With all the chips down, Aliyah Boston took over.

No. 1 South Carolina women's basketball trailed by 12 points early, by 10 points in the fourth quarter and for over 38 out of the 40 regulation minutes, but stayed in the game on the road at No. 2 Stanford long enough to have a chance to tie the game on the final position.

Boston caught an inbounds pass, skied over two defenders and got a friendly roll to tie the game 61-61 with 2.1 seconds remaining. South Carolina won the overtime period 15-10 to pull off a stunning 76-71 victory, its 16th consecutive win over AP top 25 teams overall and second in a row over Stanford dating back to a simialrly thrilling game last year in Columbia.

The reigning National Player of the Year only played six minutes in the first half with foul trouble and scored more than half of her team-high 14 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, also gobbling up 13 rebounds to post yet another double-double.

But for as incredible as Boston was in crunch time, the game never would have made it there without South Carolina's (4-0) bench unit. Early foul trouble forced Dawn Staley to dip deep into her bench, at one time having all five starters out of the game in the second quarter. Stanford (5-1) jumped out to a 21-9 lead and controlled the pace of play for most of the afternoon, but the bench kept the Gamecocks afloat.

Laeticia Amihere played a stellar game at both ends of the floor, registering nine points, six rebounds and two blocks as she made her presence felt on the defensive end against a physical Stanford attack. Bree Hall also scored a dozen on 4-of-8 shooting, including a pair of clutch 3-pointers.

But for as hard as South Carolina charged, it never led. It cut it to one late in the first half, but Stanford pushed the lead back out to 10. It cut it to two, but lost that chance to santch momentum thanks to a shooting funk. After the Gamecocks scored the opening bucket to go up 2-0, they never led again for the rest of regulation. Stanford's Cameron Brink scored a game-high 25 points, knocking down 8-of-13 shots from the floor.

But just when things looked bleak with Stanford leading 54-44 and the fourth quarter opening, the defensive dial flipped all the way up. It took almost eight minutes for the Cardinal to score from the field, missing enough shots and turning the ball over just enough to keep the visitors afloat, although their own inconistency shooting the ball looked like it would render it all too little, too late.

But Boston put the team her on her back one more time, and gave her squad a lifeline in the form of five extra minutes of ball.

They didn't let her down.

There were five lead changes in a pulsating overtime, but the shot of the extra session came when Boston passed the ball out of a double-team under the basket and Hall pocketed a 3-pointer to make it 73-69.

Stanford trimmed its deficit to 73-71 on a pair of free throws and even had a chance to tie the game with 10 seconds left after a sloppy South Carolina entry pass, but a pair of baffling turnovers sealed the Cardinal's fate.

First, a five-second violation when trying to inbound the ball.

Then, after two missed South Carolina free throws and a defensive rebound with an opportunity to tie the game, a timeout without any remaining.

Technical foul, two South Carolina free throws plus possession, ballgame.

An improbable victory, a furious rally and the type of game Staley's championship program has made a habit of winning over the years.