GREENSBORO, N.C. – Aliyah Boston and her South Carolina teammates have secured what they’d pointed toward all season: a shot at redemption at the Final Four.
Boston scored 19 points to lead the top-seeded Gamecocks to their second straight Final Four with an 80-50 win over Creighton, ending the Bluejays’ surprising run through the NCAA tournament in Sunday night’s Greensboro Regional final.
The Gamecocks (33-2) took control early and rarely gave No. 10 seed Creighton (23-10) a chance to get back into the game, which ended with South Carolina celebrating clinching its fourth national semifinal appearance in the past seven NCAA tournaments.
Boston’s streak of consecutive double-doubles ended at 27 – the 6-foot-5 star had seven rebounds in the blowout – but she’s happy to have another chance to compete for a national crown and wipe away the disappointment from last season.
That’s when Boston missed a short putback in the closing moments of the Gamecocks’ 66-65 loss to eventual NCAA champion Stanford in the national semifinals. She collapsed in tears on the court and has been almost single-minded in wanting to finish what the team missed out on then.
“It’s exciting,” Boston said of the Final Four return. “We said in the locker room, we’ve got unfinished business.”
The Gamecocks will face either Louisville or Michigan on Friday in Minneapolis. The top-seeded Cardinals play the No. 3 seed Wolverines on Monday night in the Wichita Regional final.
South Carolina danced and celebrated the win Sunday as Boston held up two fingers for the team’s back-to-back Final Fours. Boston was named the regional’s MVP for her dominance through four games with a combined 67 points and 57 rebounds.
Her signature moment came against North Carolina on Friday, when Boston posted 28 points, 22 rebounds and scored all 13 of South Carolina’s fourth-quarter points in the 69-61 victory.
“It was pressure-packed the entire season, and it’s a relief to know that we’re back” in the Final Four, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said.
AP photo by Gerry Broome / Creighton guard Carly Bachelor, left, defends against South Carolina forward Victaria Saxton during an NCAA tournament Elite Eight game Sunday night in Greensboro, N.C.It was a disheartening end for the feel-good Bluejays, whose Elite Eight run was one of the tourney’s big stories. Lauren Jensen had 12 points to lead them in Sunday’s defeat.
“Really frustrated and angry that we lost,” guard Tatum Rembao said. “But really joyful for all we got to experience these last 10 days.”
South Carolina had struggled on offense down the stretch this season, especially in the previous four games – shooting less than 36% in the Southeastern Conference tournament final loss to Kentucky and in NCAA wins against Howard, Miami and North Carolina.
This time, the Gamecocks were efficient, free-flowing and on target. They made six of their first seven shots to take a 13-5 lead four minutes in. When Creighton closed to 13-10, South Carolina took off on a game-changing 31-10 surge to take control for good.
Boston was her unstoppable self against an opponent without a player taller than 6-1. She made six of seven shots the first two quarters for 14 points. Destanni Henderson had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers.
The Gamecocks led 46-25 at halftime and built the lead to 32 points late in the fourth quarter.
Brea Beal and Henderson finished with 12 points apiece, while Victaria Saxton had 11, giving South Carolina four starters in double figures. Saxton also led the team with 11 rebounds.
“It’s been well deserved,” Henderson said of the season’s success. “Everyone has stepped up to the plate.”
Creighton had hoped its unconventional attack that relies on firing away from 3-point range might take the Gamecocks by surprise, as it did seventh-seeded Colorado, second-seeded Iowa and third-seeded Iowa State.
But much like No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s in its lopsided loss to North Carolina earlier Sunday in the men’s tournament, the grind against Power Five programs proved too much to keep Cinderella dancing. Creighton could not match up with South Carolina’s size and was outrebounded 43-23.
“There were times we had all five blue jerseys going after the board,” Jensen said, “and they still came out with it.”