GREENSBORO, NC — Aliyah Boston crossed a goal off her tally on Sunday night.
The biggest is ahead of us.
Though Boston had lost their double-double streak, their 19 points were groundbreaking as they helped No. 1 overall seed South Carolina deal with No. 10 seed Creighton 80-50 to tie for a second straight season secure a spot in the Final Four.
That Final Four appearance has been Boston’s goal since the Gamecocks’ semifinal loss to Stanford last year, when they missed a shot at the buzzer that would have propelled the Gamecocks into the national title game. South Carolina coach Dawn Staley and the rest of the team have been candid about how badly they all wanted to return to the Final Four for another shot at winning a championship.
Especially Boston.
Now they have it. As the last few seconds of the clock ticked by, Boston raised her arms in the air, danced a little and yelled, “Let’s go!” After the post-game handshake line, the players ran over to dance with the South Carolina band and to party, and soon Boston joined them after she did her ESPN post-game interview.
Despite Boston not having a double-double for the first time in 27 straight games, their presence in the color caused major problems for the much smaller Bluejays. To try to slow down the Gamecocks, Creighton knew it had to try to make life as uncomfortable as possible for Boston and the Post players inside while relying on its ability to make 3-pointers.
Easier said than done against the top contenders for Player of the Year. South Carolina finished with 42 points in the paint, the 13th time it has had 40 or more points this season — the most in the SEC. Eight of Boston’s nine field goal attempts in the game came from inside the paint. Not only that, South Carolina used its height advantage to rebound Creighton 43-23 – limiting the Bluejays to just four second-chance points.
Meanwhile, South Carolina’s stifling defense ended the 5-out offense that Creighton is playing and limited 3-point attempts. Creighton entered Sunday’s contest averaging 10 3-pointers made per game. But Creighton went 7-of-21 against the Gamecocks, and as South Carolina continued to extend their lead, the Bluejays seemed powerless to stop him.
Of course, the run Creighton took to get to this point was historic. The Bluejays upset three higher-seeded teams en route to their debut Elite Eight appearance, and they became only the fourth double-digit seedling to make the Elite Eight.
But the game got out of hand early on. Boston made it look easy in the first half, with 12 of their 14 first-half points scored in the paint. South Carolina finished the first half with 30 total points in the paint, the most in a half in this year’s NCAA tournament. South Carolina went into halftime with a 46-25 lead and never looked back.
Next up on Friday in Minneapolis, the Gamecocks play the winner of Monday night’s Elite Eight game between Louisville and Michigan, with the possibility of a rematch against Stanford looming – only this time in the national championship game.