No. 1 South Carolina, Boston power past Coastal 102-39

Published Dec. 21, 2022 1:52 p.m. ET

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Aliyah Boston had 11 points and 10 rebounds for her 68th career double double to keep No. 1 South Carolina undefeated with a 102-39 victory over Coastal Carolina on Wednesday.

Boston, who played just 13 minutes, moved four games away from matching the program's all-time mark for double-doubles held by Sheila Foster established four decades ago.

Freshman Ashlyn Watkins had a career high 16 points and Zia Cooke 14 as the defending national champs improved to 12-0 for a second straight season and fourth time in Dawn Staley's 15 years as coach.

This figured to be a challenge for the Chanticleers (5-6), who have just two players 6 feet or taller while South Carolina had 10.

And just about every Gamecock got the chance to show out as Staley mixed-and-matched her deep, talented roster.

South Carolina led 13-2 less than five minutes in and steadily built the lead to 36 by halftime. The Gamecocks' trademark defense didn't fade, no matter who Staley put on the court.

They outrebounded Coastal Carolina 34-12 and had 12 blocks the first 20 minutes.

Boston had three of her team's season-high 16 blocks, including one where she chased down Amaya Adams, who had stolen the ball and was moving towards the basket when the reigning AP Player of the Year knocked the shot out of bounds.

Arin Freeman scored 15 points to lead Coastal Carolina, which shot just 20.5% (15 of 73) after coming in shooting 43% on the season. Aja Blount, the Chants' top scorer at 17.5 points a game, was held to six points on 2-of-14 shooting.

South Carolina finished with five players in double figures for a second straight game.

BIG PICTURE

Coastal Carolina: The Chanticleers have taken on Power Five programs under first-year coach Kevin Pederson, losing at Georgia, Kentucky and Wake Forest before falling to the Gamecocks. Pederson believes the rugged schedule will get them ready for the Sun Belt Conference.

South Carolina: Fun time is over for the Gamecocks, who'll play three of their first five SEC games on the road. Staley has said her team is still finding the form it'll need to repeat as conference regular season and national champions.

HOLIDAY SWEATERS

South Carolina's coaching staff pulled out their holiday sweaters on the sidelines a few days before Christmas. Staley wore a red oversized sweater and her assistants and staff wore festive outfits. The winner? Had to be assistant Lisa Boyer, who wore a Christmas tree dress with gold leggings and green and red elf-style shoes.

UP NEXT

Coastal Carolina: Opens Sun Belt Conference play at James Madison on Dec. 29.

South Carolina: Starts defense of its SEC regular-season title against Texas A&M on Dec. 29.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25