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No. 1 South Carolina rallies to beat No. 15 UCLA 73-64
Women's Basketball  . 

No. 1 South Carolina rallies to beat No. 15 UCLA 73-64

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Aliyah Boston, looking healthy as ever, had 18 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks as No. 1 South Carolina rallied from 10-points down to beat No. 15 UCLA 73-64 on Tuesday night.

Boston had missed the second half in a win over Hampton on Sunday after a hard fall. She returned to the bench in that game with a walking boot on her right foot.

But Boston started and played 35 minutes against the Bruins (7-1) to help the Gamecocks (7-0) overcome a 31-21 deficit right before halftime to win their 17th straight over a ranked opponent.

It was Boston’s 65th career double-double and 32nd against a ranked opponent over four seasons.

Georgia Tech transfer Kierra Fletcher had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while the 6-foot-7 Kamilla Cardoso added a season-high 16 points, nine rebounds and five of the Gamecocks’ 15 blocked shots.

The game was tied at 47-all entering the fourth quarter. That’s when the Gamecocks turned up their smothering defense, holding UCLA to just three field goals in the final 10 minutes.

Zia Cooke’s tiebreaking bucket with 5:37 left in the game put South Carolina up for good at 54-52. The Gamecocks led by as many as 10 points in the final minutes.

Charisma Osborne led UCLA with 24 points while freshman Kiki Rice scored 16.

Early on UCLA and Rice upped the pace and took things right into the heart of South Carolina’s smothering defense to build a 10-point lead late in the second quarter.

South Carolina missed 11 straight shots during one stretch, including a sequence where it had four consecutive chances from close in.

The Gamecocks showed some life in the final minutes as Boston had two blocks and a basket to cut things to 31-27 at the break. UCLA missed its last seven shots of the quarter

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Notables:

  • The Gamecocks went on a 6-0 run in the last 2:30 of the first half to put themselves within four.
  • Kierra Fletcher picked up her first double-double of the season (12 pts/10 rebs), highlighted by eight straight points to get the offense going early in the second half. Her seven first-half rebounds, including four on the offensive end, to help the Gamecocks keep it close.

  • In the third quarter, South Carolina went on a 14-8 run to tie things at 47-47.
  • Tale of Two Halves: After the Gamecocks shot just 31.6% (12-38) in the first half, the team turned up the offense in the second to improve to 50.0% from the field (15-30)
  • Aliyah Boston returned with a vengeance, putting up her 65th double-double of her career with a season high 18 points and 10 rebounds, in addition to four blocks (season high)
  • Kamilla Cardoso had a dominant fourth-quarter, tallying 10 points in the paint and four rebounds to give herself a new season high of 16 points and five blocks

  • As a team, South Carolina nabbed their 17th consecutive win against a top-25 team, and put up a season-high 15 blocks

Postgame Press Conference

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