ATHENS, Ga. -- Aliyah Boston scored 15 points and No. 1 South Carolina rode an overwhelming opening quarter to its 13th consecutive win, beating Georgia 88-53 on Sunday.
Destanni Henderson had 14 points for South Carolina (19-1, 7-0 SEC). Boston had four of the Gamecocks' 11 steals. Tyasha Harris added 13 points and seven assists.
Stephanie Paul led Georgia (12-8, 3-4) with 13 points.
South Carolina used its dominant defense to grab control early.
South Carolina had seven steals in taking a 28-8 lead at the end of the opening quarter. Many of the forced turnovers followed Georgia's ill-fated attempts to pass the ball inside. The Lady Bulldogs made only 3 of 13 shots from the field in the deflating opening period.
Gabby Connally's third three-pointer of the second quarter helped Georgia trim the South Carolina lead to 13 points at 34-21. The Gamecocks stretched the lead to 26 points in the third quarter.
Connally had 11 points and nine assists.
In other games Sunday involving Top 25 teams, Jessika Carter scored 24 points and pulled down 11 rebounds and No. 9 Mississippi State routed Ole Miss 80-39 in Starkville. Mississippi State (18-3, 6-1) led 30-6 at the end of the first quarter and the rout was on. ... Kayla Wells scored 18 points as No. 15 Texas A&M rolled to a victory over Missouri in College Station, Texas. Wells made 5 of 14 shots from the floor and all six of her free throws for the Aggies (17-3, 5-2), who led 33-22 at halftime and broke the game open with a 22-11 third-quarter run. N'dea Jones finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Aijha Blackwell paced the Tigers (5-15, 2-5) with 18 points and seven rebounds. ... Rennia Davis scored 30 points, making all 10 of her free throws, and No. 23 Tennessee beat LSU, 63-58, in Knoxville, Tenn. The Lady Vols (16-4, 6-1 SEC) won their fifth consecutive conference matchup. Ayana Mitchell scored 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting with 12 rebounds for LSU (14-5, 4-3). ... Sabrina Ionescu scored 19 points and Satou Sabally added 16 to help No. 4 Oregon beat seventh-ranked Oregon State 66-57 in Corvallis, Ore., sweeping the two-game Civil War series. The Ducks (17-2, 7-1 Pac-12) dominated the final 20 minutes after trailing by three points at the half. Mikayla Pivec scored 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Beavers (16-4, 4-4), who have lost three games in a row. ... Dana Evans, Kylee Shook, Bionca Dunham and Elizabeth Balogun all had 12 each for No. 5 Louisville in a 83-49 victory over Pitt. Jazmine Jones added 11, and Elizabeth Dixon pitched in 10 off the bench for the Cardinals (20-1, 9-0 ACC). ... Freshman Francesca Belibi scored a season-best 20 points to go with eight rebounds, and No. 6 Stanford beat Utah 82-49 to run its home winning streak at Maples Pavilion to 16 games dating to last season. Fellow freshman Hannah Jump added 14 points for the Cardinal (18-2, 7-1 Pac-12). ... Elissa Cunane had 22 points and 17 rebounds to help No. 8 North Carolina State beat North Carolina 76-68. Aislinn Konig added 16 points and Kai Crutchfield had 13 for the Wolfpack (19-1, 8-1 ACC), who improved to 12-0 at home. Shayla Bennett scored 19 of her 24 points in the second half to lead North Carolina (14-6, 5-4). ... Michaela Onyenwere scored 23 points and Chrisma Osborne added 16 as No. 10 UCLA recovered from a slow start to earn a 66-50 victory over Washington State. The Bruins (18-1, 7-1 Pac-12) won despite shooting just 37% from the floor. Borislava Hristova scored 14 points for Washington State (9-11, 2-6). ... Lexi Held hit five of No. 11 DePaul's season-high 18 three-pointers and the Blue Demons rolled to a 92-66 victory over Georgetown. Kelly Campbell 14 points and reserve Dee Bekelja had 13 points for DePaul (19-2, 9-0 Big East), which has won 10 in a row. ... Kiah Gillespie scored 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds to help No. 14 Florida State defeat Miami 79-61. Nicki Ekhomu led the Seminoles (17-3, 6-3 ACC) with 19 points and Nausia Woolfolk added 15 points. ... Freshman McKenna Warnock scored 15 of her career-high 22 points in the fourth quarter when No. 19 Iowa broke open a close game and beat Michigan State 74-57 for the Hawkeyes' eighth consecutive victory. The Hawkeyes (16-3, 7-1 Big Ten) extended their home winning streak to 32 games. ... Stephanie Jones had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 20 Maryland defeated No. 22 Northwestern in a duel between Big Ten contenders in College Park, Md. Taylor Mikesell scored 14, and Ashley Owusu and Blair Watson had 13 points apiece for the Terrapins (16-4, 7-2). Lindsey Pulliam scored 20 for the Wildcats (17-2, 7-2). ... Monica Arens and Ciara Duffy scored 18 points apiece and No. 24 South Dakota beat Oral Roberts in Vermillion, S.D. The Coyotes (19-2, 8-0 Summit League) have won eight consecutive games.
Sports on 01/27/2020