South Carolina women surging

Freshman Aliyah Boston had 12 points and 14 rebounds and No. 1 South Carolina used its relentless defense for a big run in the first quarter en route to its 19th consecutive win, 95-44, against Vanderbilt.

LeLe Grissett had 14 points to lead the Gamecocks (25-1, 12-0 SEC). Tyasha Harris and Destanni Henderson each had 12 points to help South Carolina take control with a swarming defense that triggered its fast-paced attack.

It happened quickly. After the Commodores (13-12, 3-9) hit four shots in a row to draw within 13-10 early on. Vanderbilt could not hold up once the Gamecocks cranked things up.

Harris had five points and Grissett four in South Carolina’s 17-0 run By the time Henderson hit a short jumper in the final minute, the Gamecocks were up 30-10 and cruised to their 12th victory in a row against Vanderbilt.

It was the 11th doubledouble for the 6-foot-5 Boston, who leads South Carolina in scoring and in blocked shots. She had two of her team’s 11 blocks against Vanderbilt.

Connecticut

Huskies forward Akok Akok suffered a complete rupture of his left Achilles tendon during Connecticut’s win against Memphis, the school said. The injury occurred in the first minute of Sunday’s 64-61 victory after Akok had blocked a shot and was running back down court. The extent of the injury was confirmed Monday by an MRI. Akok will undergo surgery later this week and will miss the remainder of the season.

Dayton

VCU looks for its fourth consecutive win against No. 5 Dayton (23-2, 12-0 A-10) at Stuart Siegel Center Tuesday. The most recent victory for Dayton at VCU (17-8, 7-5) was a 59-55 win Feb. 28, 2015. The Flyers have won their past six road games, scoring 78.8 points, while allowing 68.7 per game.

Creighton

Two ranked teams match up Tuesday as No. 15 Creighton (20-6, 9-4) visits No. 19 Marquette (17-7, 7-5) in a Big East showdown. Creighton is 3-2 against ranked opponents this season, while Marquette has won two of its five games against ranked teams.

Notre Dame

Nate Laszewski swished a 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds to go as host Notre Dame (16-10, 7-8 ACC) stormed back from a 15-point second-half deficit for a 77-76 victory against beleaguered North Carolina (10-16, 3-12), which lost its sixth in a row.