Gamecocks top Creighton, reach Final Four
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Aliyah Boston scored 19 points and led top-seeded South Carolina to its second straight Final Four with an 80-50 victory over Creighton on Sunday night, ending the 10th-seeded Bluejays’ surprise run through the NCAA Tournament.
The Gamecocks (33-2) advanced to their fourth Final Four in the past seven tournaments.
Boston lost her streak of 27 double-doubles in a row, ending with seven rebounds in the blowout. But she gained a much bigger prize — a shot at redemption in Minneapolis next week.
Last year, 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.
The Gamecocks will face either Louisville or Michigan on Friday in the Final Four. The top-seeded Cardinals play the No. 3 seed Wolverines for the Wichita Region title on Monday night.
South Carolina danced and celebrated the win on Sunday as Boston held up two fingers for its back-toback Final Fours.
It was a disheartening
end for the feel-good Bluejays (23-10), who had burst through the Greensboro Region to reach the Elite Eight. Lauren Jensen had 12 points to lead the Bluejays.
South Carolina had struggled on offense down the stretch this season, especially in the past four games — shooting less than 36% in the SEC Tournament final loss to Kentucky and in NCAA wins against Howard, Miami and North Carolina.