No. 1 South Carolina rallies behind Aliyah Boston to beat No. 2 UConn Huskies
No. 1 vs. No. 2 in women's college basketball lived up to its marquee billing Monday.
Squaring off in the championship of the "Women's Battle 4 Atlantis" in Paradise Island, Bahamas, No. 1 South Carolina rallied from a 13-point deficit to take down the second-ranked Connecticut Huskies 73-57 to remain undefeated.
With 13 first-half points from superstar Paige Bueckers, the Huskies started strong and held a 36-33 edge at the half.
However, Dawn Staley's top-ranked team buckled down in the second half. On offense, forward Aliyah Boston matched her first-half points total of 11 to finish with 22 for the game, leading all scorers.
Boston also hauled in a whopping 15 rebounds, the same total UConn's five starters had. In the end, South Carolina out-rebounded UConn 42-25, including a 19-6 advantage in offensive rebounds.
After outscoring the Huskies 24-18 in the third quarter, the Gamecocks ratcheted up their defensive intensity for the final frame.
South Carolina outscored UConn 16-3 in the fourth quarter and closed the game with a 10-0 run, with Evina Westbrook's triple — which made it 63-57 with 5:01 remaining — the only points the Huskies would score down the stretch.
Bueckers cooled off in the second half, scoring six second-half points to finish with a team-high 19. For the Gamecocks, guards Zia Cooke and Destanni Henderson poured in 17 and 15 points, respectively, to round out South Carolina's leading scorers alongside Boston.
The result pushed South Carolina to 6-0 for the season, while UConn dropped to 3-1. It was South Carolina's third win vs. a top-10 team already this season, having already taken down No. 5 NC State and No. 9 Oregon.
Monday's clash was the 61st all-time meeting between the top two teams in the women’s AP Top 25 poll and the sixth time it has happened in the month of November. In those contests, the No. 1 team holds a 38-23 advantage.
A rematch is already on the docket for these two powerhouses, too, as they'll meet again on Jan. 27 at Colonial Life Arena in South Carolina.
Here is how social media reacted to the battle between the Gamecocks and Huskies:
Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.
