Arkansas takes on South Carolina at SEC Tournament.
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Destanni Henderson had a careerhigh 21 points, hitting four 3-pointers, to lift No. 1 South Carolina to its 25th straight victory and into the SEC Tournament championship game with a 90-64 win over No. 25 Arkansas on Saturday night.
Henderson, a sophomore backup, provided a major boost with 11 points in the second quarter as the Gamecocks (311) opened a 19-point lead by halftime.
Then after the Razorbacks cut the margin to 55-48 late in the third period, Henderson had five points in a 12-0 run that restored South Carolina's big lead.
Arkansas (24-8) had rallied from 17-points down on Friday to eliminate No. 15 Texas A&M in the quarterfinals, 67-66.
This time, the Razorbacks' could not finish and lost their third straight this season to the Gamecocks.
Freshmen Zia Cooke had 14 points while Aliyah Boston had 13 points and 13 rebounds.
It was Boston's 13th double-double this season and second straight in the SEC Tournament.
Henderson surpassed her previous best of 19, set last year in a win over Arkansas.
The Gamecocks, who won an SEC record four straight tournament titles from 2015-2018, will play either No. 9 Mississippi State or No. 16 Kentucky in Sunday's championship game.
The Razorbacks looked like they wanted to avoid falling in a big hole when
they nailed a pair of 3-pointers in the first 90 seconds.
But then South Carolina's defense kicked in and Arkansas went cold.
The Razorbacks missed 11 straight field goals into the second quarter as the Gamecocks opened a 20-10 lead.
The 29 points tied for the third fewest the Razorbacks, who average better than 84 points a game lead the SEC, have scored the first 20 minutes.
Amber Ramirez had 18 points off six 3-pointers to lead the Razorbacks.
Arkansas top scorers in Alexis Tolefree and Chelsea Dungee struggled against South Carolina's defense, combining to shoot 5 of 23 for 18 points — below their season's average of nearly 34 points a game.
THE BIG PICTURE
Arkansas: The Razorbacks didn't show it in this one, but they have all the offense necessary to make an impact in the NCAA Tournament in a couple of weeks.
Dungee and Tolefree are both relentless players who can dig Arkansas out of most holes it gets into.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks seem play their best against the best competition.
They lead the nation with 12 victories over ranked opponents this season.
Their only loss on the year came to then No. 17-ranked Indiana back on Thanksgiving night.
South Carolina will a few more opportunities to improve that mark before their season ends.
UP NEXT
Arkansas awaits an NCAA Tournament berth.
South Carolina advances to the SEC to Tournament finals on Sunday.