No. 5 South Carolina women win 13th straight over Florida

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Aliyah Boston, despite her strong early numbers, knew she wasn’t where she had hoped to be this season.

She took a huge step in the right direction against Florida on Thursday.

Boston, the 6-foot-5 sophomore, had a career-best 28 points along with 16 rebounds and No. 5 South Carolina opened Southeastern Conference play with a 75-59 victory over Florida.

Boston came in averaging 11.5 points and 9.7 rebounds, good, but not good enough in her opinion.

”I definitely think I was holding me back,” she said.

No one could hold her back in this one. Boston hit a career best three 3-pointers and took a court-length drive after a missed Florida shot for a basket right before halftime.

It’s a broadening of her game, Boston said, after a she was the SEC’s freshman and defensive player of the year in 2019-20.

”She’s had some great days for us,” Dawn Staley said. But ”she’s been a fraction of who she’s been over the first part of the season.”

It was the 13th straight win over Florida (7-2) for South Carolina (6-1), which also won for the 20th consecutive time against SEC competition.

Zia Cooke had 26 points for the Gamecocks.

South Carolina hadn’t played in two weeks since its 103-41 home victory over Temple on Dec. 17. And it looked as if the Gamecocks wouldn’t get this one in, either, when originally scheduled opponent Ole Miss had to postpone due to COVID-19 issues.

But Florida stepped in – the Gators were originally scheduled to come to South Carolina on Feb. 25 – to start SEC play.

Early on, the Gators looked fully capable of hanging with the Gamecocks and were down only 16-13 after Lavender Briggs had two straight baskets in the second quarter. That’s when Boston and the Gamecocks got going with a 15-0 run to take control.

Boston had nine points in the surge and Cooke, the team’s top scorer this season, had four points.

When Boston slipped in a 3-pointer, the Gamecocks were up 31-13 and cruising.

”I hate to be cliche, but you can’t stop her, you can only hope to contain her,” Florida coach Cam Newbauer said.

Boston closed the half in dominating fashion, pulling down missed shot under the Florida basket with six seconds left, rushing up the court and stopping to pop a short jumper.

Boston gave Staley a little wink after the shot went in. ”It wasn’t a wink” her coach joked. ”She was trying to get her next breath” after the long run.

Boston reached a double-double by halftime with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Boston had her third double-double this season and 16th of her career. She also had four of South Carolina’s 10 blocks and a career best with three 3-pointers.

Florida cut a 22-point lead to 57-47 late in the third quarter, but the Gamecocks opened the final period with an 6-1 burst to restore the large lead.

Briggs tied her career high with 23 points to lead the Gators.

GAMECHANGER
With Florida rallying in the third, cutting a 21-point halftime lead to 10 with 1:35 to play in the quarter, Zia Cooke responded with back-to-back jumpers to push the lead back to 14 and help stop the Gators’ momentum. 

KEY STAT 
The Gamecocks proved too disruptive for Florida, holding a 10-2 blocked shots advantage and a 12-3 steals edge that never let the Gators establish a rhythm in the contest.  

NOTABLES 

• Freshman Aliyah Boston was dominant on Thursday, notching a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds in the first half before finishing with a career-best 28 points and 16 rebounds to go along her four blocks and three steals. Boston sank a jumper at the end of the first half to push her over the 500-point threshold, making her the 11th-fastest Gamecock to hit that mark. 
• Sophomore Zia Cooke tallied 26 points, a new season best, including the Gamecocks’ final 12 of the third quarter to keep the Gators at bay. 
• Junior Victaria Saxton was key to disrupting Florida’s offense, finishing with 12 rebounds three blocks and three steals to go with her nine points.

UP NEXT 
The Gamecocks (6-1, 1-0 SEC) hit the road for their next contest, a clash with the undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0, 1-0 SEC). That contest is set for a 7 p.m. ET start on the SEC Network. 

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