Still the 1! Gamecocks top Georgia to claim unprecedented sixth SEC title in seven years

It was gritty, nerve-wracking and at times a little ugly.

But somehow, some way, South Carolina women’s basketball held off a spirited challenge from Georgia on Sunday to win the SEC tournament title 67-62 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

Sophomore forward Aliyah Boston led No. 7 USC with 27 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, while junior guard Destanni Henderson had 18 points and nine rebounds. Together, they willed the Gamecocks to victory on a day in which South Carolina turned the ball over 20 times and got just four points from its bench.

“I’d say it’s one of them,” Boston, the tournament MVP, said when asked if Sunday marked the grittiest game of the season for USC. “I definitely think it is because Georgia, I mean, they fought the whole way. Even when there was just 40 seconds left, they’re trying to get steals, trying to press. It definitely showed.”

The victory gives USC its sixth title in the last seven years, the first time that has been done in SEC history. It also comes one day shy of exactly a year since the Gamecocks won the tournament last season, the final game they wound up playing in the 2019-20 campaign before the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely ended their bid for a national title. All of that, Staley said, made this year’s win in front of 3,000 socially-distanced fans even better.

“This is special. There were a lot of unknowns for our team. There were a lot of unknowns externally,” Staley said. “Had a lot of scares and had to shut down because of contact tracing, someone came up positive. So there was a lot of uncertainty. But this one feels good, because we earned it on the court, and we earned it off the court in that none of our players was impacted very seriously, and they did everything they needed to put themselves in this situation.

The win also sets the Gamecocks up to land a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, set to begin March 21 in San Antonio, Texas.

3 OBSERVATIONS

1. Hard fought from the start

After bursting out to double-digit advantages in the first quarter of their first two games this tournament, the Gamecocks were the ones trailing early Sunday, as Georgia took an early 23-17 lead.

South Carolina hurt itself with four turnovers, including one completely unforced when junior forward Victaria Saxton threw the ball past Henderson, who wasn’t looking. But Georgia was effective in its own right, shooting 60% from the field and drilling several key 3-pointers, even in the face of strong close-outs.

In the post, Boston went head-to-head with UGA center Jenna Staiti, with Staiti drawing a quick foul to force Boston to the bench. She eventually returned late in the first quarter, though, and got her revenge, drawing Staiti’s second foul of the game and forcing her out of the game.

Early in the second quarter, the Gamecocks recovered the lead with a 7-0 push, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Henderson after two Georgia defenders collided, leaving her wide open.

Just as it seemed the Lady Bulldogs might be on the ropes, though, Gabby Connally hit a jumper to break the run. From there, the two teams traded shot for shot, with Zia Cooke finishing it off by draining a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to tie it up 35-35. In the first two quarters alone, there were seven ties and nine lead changes.

2. Crucial stretch

Georgia’s shooting cooled dramatically in the third quarter, including a 2-for-12 stretch that allowed the Gamecocks to build a little cushion, with Boston continuing to bully her way inside.

“Aliyah Boston was huge today,” Staley said. “She has to be that dominant for us in order for us to win these type of basketball games. So I was happy for her. She saw the ball go in. She didn’t have double coverage ... possession in and possession out. They single-covered her. We’ve been chomping at the bit for her to get single coverage. She made them pay for it.”

In one frenetic sequence, though, the Bulldogs rallied to tie the game. Staiti found Connally on an outlet pass for a fast break layup, and Georgia applied a full-court press after the make, inducing a turnover from Henderson as players scrambled on the floor to retrieve the ball. That led to another UGA layup, knotting the score at 43.

That marked the final tie of the game, as South Carolina went on a 9-0 run to end the quarter. Sophomore guard Brea Beal scored five points and Henderson added four of her own to go with an assist.

“South Carolina is tremendous coming out of the locker room at halftime,” Georgia coach Joni Taylor said. “I thought they pressured us a little bit, forced us to run our offense further away from the scoring line that we wanted to. Had some live-ball turnovers that allowed them to get out and run and score in transition. When we were able to settle that down, force them into a halfcourt game again, we were able to get ourselves back in it. But it was just too much of a margin to overcome.”

3. Held on tight

As Taylor said, Georgia was able to rally, trimming USC’s lead to four points in the closing moments on Sunday’s game and showing the fight that allowed them to upset No. 1 seed Texas A&M in the semifinals. That’s when Boston and Henderson came up biggest, accounting for all but one point down the stretch.

An intentional foul call against Georgia put Henderson on the line with less than a minute to play, and she sank both free throws to put South Carolina up six, despite showing obvious fatigue after playing the entire game.

“I knew she was tired, but I brought her over to the side,” Staley said. “I was like, ‘You got to finish it, you got to finish it. You got to suck it up, you got to finish it. We can’t afford to take you off the floor.’ She shook her head and she made plays.”

Then, with 13 seconds left to go, Boston stepped to the charity stripe. UGA had just hit a 3-pointer to get within three points, and Boston had missed both her free throws in her previous trip. This time, though, she calmly sank both attempts to seal the victory.

“I missed the first two free throws, it was sitting in my head,” Boston said. “All of a sudden there I was again back to the free-throw line. I was like, ‘OK, you got to make these, can’t miss these.’”

SELECTION MONDAY

What: 2021 NCAA women’s basketball tournament selection show

When: 7 p.m., Monday, March 15

Watch: ESPN

This story was originally published March 7, 2021 at 4:12 PM.

Greg Hadley

The State

Covering University of South Carolina football, women’s basketball and baseball for GoGamecocks and The State, along with Columbia city council and other news.