The top-ranked South Carolina women’s basketball team continued its successful start to the season by rallying to win the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament title in the Bahamas over No. 2 Connecticut, 73-57, on Nov. 22.
Junior Aliyah Boston led the way offensively for the Gamecocks with a game-high 22 points and 15 rebounds.
”Our players are determined. They are resilient,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley told the Associated Press after the game. ”We knew exactly what we had to do especially on the defensive side of the ball. We had to disrupt.”
Among the other prominent players in the game were Destiny Littleton, whose late third-quarter 3-pointer gave the Gamecocks a 57-54 lead, and Destannia Henderson, who ended with a career-high six steals, four of which came in the second half.
South Carolina gained an early 6-0 lead before UConn rallied on a 20-2 run, led by senior center Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who made two blocks and drew an offensive foul in less than a minute.
This helped reduce the Huskies’ 13-point lead after one quarter to 20-14 and the Gamecocks’ defensive effort continued in the second quarter, where they chipped away at UConn’s lead to 36-33 at halftime.
It was the 61st match between the top two teams in the AP Top 25 women’s poll, and the sixth to take place in November.
With a +16.4 rebounding edge coming into the game, the Gamecocks increased on that lead by outrebounding the Huskies 42-25.
The 19-6 edge in offensive rebounds, with Boston leading the Gamecocks with seven, led to a 17-2 advantage in second-chance points for South Carolina.
