Boston ties SEC mark, No. 1 South Carolina tops Tennessee
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Aliyah Boston had 16 points and 12 rebounds to match the Southeastern Conference mark of 19 straight double-doubles and No. 1 South Carolina clinched a share of the league title with a 67-53 victory over No. 12 Tennessee.
Boston tied the mark of LSU great Sylvia Fowles accomplished 15 years ago and the Gamecocks (25-1, 13-1 SEC) won their 13th straight to lock up the No. 1 seed in the league tournament in two weeks.
Boston, with her Tennessee orange braids, stole the show with her latest dominant performance. She had eight points and eight rebounds at the half, then hit a driving basket for her 10th point. Three minutes later, Boston collected her own miss for the 10th rebound as the crowd of 18,000-plus cheered.
Tennessee (21-6, 10-4) was still in it, though, down 44-36 after Rae Burrell's bucket midway through the third quarter.
That's when Destanni Henderson, honored as a South Carolina senior at her final regular-season home game, rushed up the court for layups on consecutive possessions. Freshman Saniya Rivers stole a pass near midcourt and went in for a layup to put the Gamecocks up 50-38.
The Lady Vols could not respond, losing for the fifth time in eight games since rising to No. 4 in the rankings. Tennessee played its first game without top scorer and rebounder Jordan Horston, who suffered a fractured dislocation of her left elbow in a loss to Alabama this past Thursday.
Horston sat on the bench with her arm in a sling. Burrell led the Lady Vols with 14 points.
Zia Cooke had 12 points and Henderson 11 as the Gamecocks improved to 11-0 this season against ranked opponents.
South Carolina put on a national show with a full house and ESPN's College GameDay on hand.
The Lady Vols didn't back down early and Brooklynn Miles' bucket tied things at 13-all in the first quarter. The Gamecocks then off on a 17-6 run. Henderson got things started with a basket.
Cooke hit a 3-pointer and Boston had a pair of inside baskets. Henderson added another from behind the arc and when Kamilla Cardoso scored, the Gamecocks led 30-19 to the delight of the crowd.
Neither team shot the ball well early. The Lady Vols and Gamecocks combined to go 0-of-15 from the floor to close the half.
THE BIG PICTURE
Tennessee: It's hard to see where Tennessee goes this season with Horston out for what coach Kellie Harper thought could be weeks. The Lady Vols appeared to be on the rise before their recent stretch and still appear to be a recruiting class or two away from competing for championships.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks have won or shared the past three SEC crowns and can wrap things up one win in their final two games at Texas A&M or Mississippi next week. No matter what, it's hard to imagine South Carolina not sweeping the SEC Tournament and heading to the NCAA's as clear-cut favorites.
UP NEXT
Tennessee plays Mississippi State at home Thursday night.
South Carolina heads to Texas A&M on Thursday night.
___
More 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