South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston, right, pressures UConn’s Dorka Juhasz during the Gamecocks’ 81-77 win on Sunday in Hartford, Connecticut. Jessica Hill/Associated Press
HARTFORD, Conn. — Aliyah Boston scored 23 of her 26 points in the second half, including 14 in the fourth quarter, to help No. 1 South Carolina beat fifth-ranked UConn 81-77 on Sunday.
The Gamecocks (23-0) have won 29 consecutive games since losing to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament title game last year.
They’ve won four of the last five meetings with the Huskies, including a victory in the NCAA championship game last season. That ended UConn’s perfect 11-0 record in title games.
South Carolina used its size again to top the Huskies. Boston, the reigning AP Player of the Year, and 6-foot-7 Kamilla Cardoso helped the Gamecocks have a 42-30 advantage on the boards, including 25 offensive rebounds.
Boston finished with 11 rebounds for the 76th double-double of her career. Cardoso added 17 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out.
With her team leading by four in the fourth quarter, Boston took over. She scored the next 12 points for South Carolina, two of which came when UConn Coach Geno Auriemma, frustrated with the officiating, got a technical foul for spiking a water bottle onto the court.
Boston hit the two free throws. She then made a jumper, a 3-pointer and another basket to give the Gamecocks a double-digit advantage, much to the disappointment of the sellout crowd – the first at the XL Center since 2017.
Despite seeing their starting backcourt foul out, the short-handed Huskies (21-3) wouldn’t go away. They whittled the lead down to 80-77 with 10.8 seconds left on Aubrey Griffin’s three-point play.
Aaliyah Edwards led UConn with 25 points.
UConn got off to a solid start, outscoring South Carolina 25-14 in the opening quarter. Lou Lopez Senechal capped the strong start, hitting a running 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
South Carolina asserted its size in the second quarter, with Cardoso scoring 11 points. Her putback with just under 10 seconds left tied the game at 34 heading into halftime.
(4) INDIANA 69, PURDUE 46: Sydney Parrish and Gorham’s Mackenzie Holmes each scored 15 points, and the Hoosiers (22-1, 12-1 Big Ten) beat the Boilermakers (15-7, 6-6) in front of the largest crowd for a Purdue women’s home game – 14,876.
Ahead 31-26 at halftime, Indiana outscored Purdue 19-2 in the third quarter to secure their 10th straight win.
WASHINGTON 72, (2) STANFORD 67: Elle Ladine scored 21 points and Delayah Daniels made two key free throws with 8 seconds left, helping the Huskies (13-9, 5-7 Pac-12) upset the Cardinal (22-3, 10-2) in Seattle.
(3) LSU 72, TEXAS A&M 66: Angel Reese had 26 points and 22 rebounds to help the Tigers (23-0, 11-0 Southeastern Conference) beat the Aggies (6-15, 1-10) in College Station, Texas.
Reese got her 23rd consecutive double-double as LSU remained undefeated ahead of a showdown next Sunday with top-ranked and undefeated South Carolina.
(6) IOWA 95, PENN STATE 51: Caitlin Clark had 23 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the Hawkeyes (19-4, 11-1 Big Ten) over the Nittany Lions (13-11, 4-9) in State College, Pennsylvania.
(7) UTAH 100, OREGON 92: Alissa Pili scored a season-high 30 points and the Utes (20-2, 10-2 Pac-12) moved into a tie for first place in the Pac-12 Conference with a win the Ducks (14-9, 5-7) at Eugene, Oregon.
(8) MARYLAND 90, (10) OHIO STATE 54: Diamond Miller scored 16 of her 29 points in the third quarter, and the Terrapins (19-5, 10-3 Big Ten) routed the visiting Buckeyes (20-4, 9-4) in the program’s most lopsided win over a top-10 opponent.
(16) DUKE 57, (9) NOTRE DAME 52: Celeste Taylor scored 14 points and the Blue Devils (20-3, 8-2 ACC) came from behind for a victory over the Fighting Irish (18-4, 9-2) in South Bend, Indiana.
LOUISVILLE 62, (11) NORTH CAROLINA 55: Chrislyn Carr scored 11 of her 17 points in the third quarter to propel the Cardinals (17-8, 8-4 ACC) to an upset of the Tar Heels (17-6, 8-4) in Louisville, Kentucky, ending North Carolina’s eight-game winning streak.
(14) UCLA 82, ARIZONA STATE 63: Charisma Osborne had 23 points, Londynn Jones added 20 off the bench, and the Bruins (18-6, 7-5 Pac-12) pulled away in the second half, defeating the visiting Sun Devils (7-14, 0-12) to snap a three-game losing streak.
(18) MICHIGAN 77, MICHIGAN STATE 67: Leigha Brown scored 19 of her 29 points in the second half and finished two assists shy of a triple-double, leading the Wolverines (19-5, 9-4 Big Ten) past the Spartans (11-12, 3-9) in East Lansing, Michigan.
(22) ARIZONA 81, SOUTHERN CAL 75: Cate Reese scored a career-high 33 points, including four free throws in the last 7.5 seconds of the second overtime, to give the Wildcats (18-5, 8-4 Pac-12) a win over the Trojans (17-6, 7-5) in Los Angeles.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
(3) HOUSTON 81, TEMPLE 65: Jarace Walker scored 23 points, Marcus Sasser had 13 and the Cougars (22-2, 10-1 American Athletic Conference) earned retribution against Temple (14-10, 8-3) with a win in Philadelphia.
The Owls failed in their bid for a second upset after they knocked the Cougars out of the No. 1 spot in the AP poll with a 56-55 win last month in Houston.
Khalif Battle led Temple with 24 points.
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