COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Aliyah Boston had a simple goal for the season, one she's more than living up to for No. 1 South Carolina.
"I'm just trying to be dominant," she said.
Boston took over once more with 18 points and 15 rebounds as the Gamecocks improved to 8-0 against ranked opponents this season with a 74-54 victory over No. 21 Kentucky on Sunday.
Boston, the 6-5 junior All-American, was nearly unstoppable around the basket -- she had 10 points and eight boards by halftime -- and matched the school mark with her ninth consecutive game with double-figure points and rebounds.
"Wow," Boston said when told after the game, seated next to her teammate Zia Cooke. "You hear that?"
It was no surprise to Cooke, who led the Gamecocks with 19 points and has watched Boston's impact from the time both were part of South Carolina's top-ranked recruiting class three seasons ago.
"When she's out there, she looks like a pro," Cooke said. "I tell her all the time, 'You look like a pro. Keep doing what you're doing.' "
If Boston can, she might lead the Gamecocks to the elusive national title they've missed out on the past two seasons. They were 32-1 and rolling with 26 consecutive wins when covid-19 shut down the 2020 NCAA Tournament.
Last year, they advanced to the Final Four and missed a pair of inside looks at the end -- including one by Boston -- to fall 66-65 to eventual national champ Stanford.
Boston isn't caught up in any of that, knowing if she keeps working, the success and titles will come.
"I'm just doing my part to help the team and that's pretty much what's coming out of it," Boston said.
Boston added five blocks and helped on defense against Kentucky star scorer Rhyne Howard, who made the game's first bucket but went on to finish 2-of-14 shooting for a season-low-tying nine points. Howard came in second in the Southeastern Conference in scoring, averaging 19.7 points.
Robyn Benton had 11 points for the Wildcats.
NO. 7 TENNESSEE 70,
MISSISSIPPI 58
OXFORD, Miss. -- Jordan Horston scored 20 points and had 11 rebounds to lead No. 7 Tennessee over Mississippi, snapping the Rebels' 13-game winning streak.
The Lady Vols (15-1, 4-0 SEC) built a 20-point lead early in the third quarter and Ole Miss (13-2, 1-1) could never pull back to within single digits.
Alexus Dye had 17 points and Tess Darby added 13 for Tennessee.
Shakira Austin led Ole Miss with 26 points and nine rebounds while Lashonda Monk scored 11. Austin was 8-of-10 shooting while the rest of the Ole Miss team was just 12 of 49.
She also made 10 of 12 free throws.
NO. 13 LSU 76, AUBURN 48
AUBURN, Ala. -- Khayla Pointer finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists to power No. 13 LSU to a romp over Auburn.
Pointer sank 9 of 14 shots from the floor with two three-pointers for LSU, which shot 46% overall and hit 3 of 7 from beyond the arc (43%). Hannah Gusters made 7 of 8 free throws and scored 13 off the bench. Faustine Aifuwa added 10 points and five boards.
LSU (15-2, 3-1), which saw its 13-game winning streak end last time out in a 66-60 loss to No. 1 South Carolina, jumped out to a 26-8 first-quarter lead and never looked back. Pointer had nine points on 4-of-5 shooting in the period.
Aicha Coulibaly, who came in third in the conference with a 17.9 scoring average, led Auburn (8-6, 0-3) with 13 points on 4-of-15 shooting. Honesty Scott-Grayson added 12 points, but she made just 3 of 14 shots.
NO. 15 GEORGIA 72,
ALABAMA 68
ATHENS, Ga. -- Jenna Staiti scored 15 of her 17 points in the second half and forced a crucial turnover in the closing seconds as No. 15 Georgia overcame a 19-point halftime deficit to beat Alabama.
Que Morrison scored 21 points to lead the Bulldogs, who shot 65% in the second half.
Alabama roared out of the gate. Brittany Davis was 4-for-4 from behind the arc in the first quarter, sparking the Crimson Tide to a 24-15 lead after one quarter. Davis finished 6-for-6 in the first half and Alabama was 10 of 12 as a team to take a 48-29 lead at intermission.
Davis went cold in the second half and did not score after intermission and the Tide managed just eight third-quarter points while Georgia rode nine points from Mikayla Coombs to cut the deficit to just six, 56-50, heading into the final quarter.
Zoesha Smith tied the game at 60-60 with a layup with 6:27 to play and Coombs gave Georgia its first lead at 67-65 when she put back her own missed layup. Down by one, Alabama's Megan Abrams drove the lane with :18 left, but Staiti and Sarah Ashlee Barker collapsed in the paint and forced the turnover. Morrison added two free throws and Staiti's free throw with a second left put the game away.
Staiti finished with nine rebounds and five blocked shots for Georgia (13-3, 2-2 SEC). Coombs finished with 13 points and five rebounds.
Alabama (10-5, 1-3) got 42 of its 68 points from behind the three-point line and finished shooting 56% from distance, hitting 14 of 25 attempts. But the Tide was just 7 of 27 from inside the arc.
FLORIDA 97,
NO. 25 TEXAS A&M 89, 2OT
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Zipporah Broughton scored a career-high 28 points, Kiki Smith added 27 and they combined for 11 of Florida's 13 points in the second overtime to lead the Gators over No. 25 Texas A&M.
Jordyn Merritt added 17 points with a career-high five 3-pointers for the Gators (11-5, 1-2 SEC), who overcame a 19-point third-quarter deficit.
Qadashah Hoppie scored 25 points, Kayla Wells 23, Maliyah Johnson 13 and Aaliyah Patty added 10 plus 16 rebounds for the Aggies (10-5, 0-3), who have lost three in a row and fell to the Gators for the first time in the teams' last seven meetings.
Broughton and Smith each had buckets to open the second overtime and Florida led the rest of the way with seven free throws in the final minute securing the win.
Two free throws by Hoppie with two seconds left in the first overtime tied it at 84-all.
TOP 25 MEN
NO. 13 OHIO STATE 95,
NORTHWESTERN 87
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- E.J. Liddell scored a career-high 34 points and No. 13 Ohio State beat Northwestern.
Liddell scored 17 points in the first five minutes, including a career-high five three-pointers in that span. He set a personal best in field goals made, finishing 12 of 20 from the floor.
His production helped Ohio State (10-3, 4-1 Big Ten) shoot 67% in the first half. The Buckeyes led 51-39 at halftime and matched their scoring output from a 67-51 loss at Indiana on Thursday.
The Wildcats (8-5, 1-3) trimmed the 12-point halftime deficit to six with 37 seconds left.
The Buckeyes made just one field goal in the final 6:13 but held off Northwestern's comeback bid at the free-throw line.
Ohio State knocked down 11 foul shots in the final three minutes and finished 26 of 27 from the line.
Malaki Branham added 24 points and shot 13 of 14 on free throws.
Three Wildcats scored at least 20 points as their losing streak extended to three. Ty Berry led Northwestern with 23 points while Chase Audige and Pete Nance each had 20.
NO. 23 WISCONSIN 70,
MARYLAND 69
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Tyler Wahl scored a career-high 21 points, Johnny Davis added 19, and No. 23 Wisconsin survived Maryland's comeback.
The Badgers (13-2, 4-1 Big Ten) extended their winning streak to five despite squandering a 21-point lead against the struggling Terrapins.
Eric Ayala scored all 19 of his points in the second half for Maryland (8-7, 0-4), which is off to its worst start in league play since losing its first four ACC games in 1992-93.
Steven Crowl gave Wisconsin the lead for good with a three-pointer with 4:03 remaining to make it 60-57. Ayala cut the deficit to 70-69 on a three-pointer with 4.2 seconds remaining. Brad Davison missed two free throws with 3.9 seconds left, but Ayala's heave at the buzzer was offline as the Badgers escaped.