No. 1 USC dominates Auburn ahead of Sunday showdown with Vols. What we learned
No. 1 South Carolina women’s basketball extended its winning streak in SEC play to 12 straight games with a 75-38 win Thursday over the Auburn Tigers, who sit at the bottom of the conference.
The Gamecocks (24-1, 12-1 SEC) played their next-to-last regular-season home game on Thursday. With its 37-point victory over the Tigers (9-15, 1-12 SEC), South Carolina can now officially turn its focus to Sunday afternoon’s marquee matchup against No. 12 Tennessee.
USC’s 11th Top 25 matchup of the 2021-22 season will be featured on ESPN’s “College GameDay,” the pregame show’s first trip to a women’s college basketball game in 11 years and just the third in its history. The game was also moved to a 1 p.m. tip on ABC — South Carolina’s first time playing on the network.
“This is where we want to be,” head coach Dawn Staley said. “This is where we’ve always wanted to be. This is why we made decisions to cancel some out of conference games, so we could be right where we are. Knock on wood, we’re healthy. We are just in a good head space.”
Here’s what we learned in the Gamecocks’ big win over Auburn.
Aliyah Boston closing in on SEC record in consecutive double-doubles
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina’s candidate for national Player of the Year, earned her 18th straight double-double in style against Auburn.
Less than two minutes into the third quarter, Boston was credited with an offensive rebound after a Zia Cooke missed 3-point attempt. Boston proceeded to take her own shot from behind the arc and watched it fall into the basket to tally 10 points.
Boston needs one more double-double to tie the SEC record set by LSU’s Sylvia Fowles. Fowles counted 19 straight double-doubles with the Tigers in the 2005-06 season. Boston already holds the South Carolina program record.
“Coach Staley just emphasized keeping the main goal the main goal,” Boston said. “All the other stuff is kind of just extra, and that’s not really what I’m focused on. The main goal is just coming here, winning every game and making it all the way. So that’s what I want to do.”
Boston finished the game with 10 points, 12 rebounds, one block and one assist in 20 minutes on the floor. She went to the bench with 6:07 to go in the third quarter.
“You have goals, you have dreams, and you have wants,” Staley said. “(The places) we’re in and she’s in are right in line with her goals and dreams.”
Zia Cooke ties season-best scoring output
Cooke is heating back up at the end of the regular season, tying her season-high scoring effort against Auburn.
Cooke scored 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field, including three shots from behind the arc, in 23 minutes of play.
Cooke headed into the game against Auburn averaging 12.3 points in conference play, second on USC’s roster behind Boston. She hadn’t scored 20 since the Gamecocks’ win over Maryland on Dec. 12 in Colonial Life Arena. She also dropped 20 points in South Carolina’s win over Oregon on Nov. 21 during the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament in the Bahamas.
“I was just mainly trying to tell myself to stay the course, stay calm and play clean,” Cooke said. “Coach was in my ear a lot just telling me ‘simplify.’ That’s what she tells me all the time. I was just trying to make sure I’m hearing that as I’m playing.”
Gamecocks one step closer to clinching share of SEC regular-season title
The Gamecocks’ win over Auburn moved them one step closer to earning the SEC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament.
With a win against Tennessee in their regular-season home finale on Sunday, the Gamecocks would be guaranteed at least a share of the 2021-22 SEC regular-season crown. Two conference games remain for a one-loss USC after their game against the Lady Vols.
With tiebreaker wins over LSU and Florida, which both have three losses in conference play, South Carolina would clinch the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament with a win over Tennessee. In a situation where the Gamecocks beat Tennessee but drop their final two games — and either LSU or Florida win out — that team and USC would be named SEC regular-season champions.
The Lady Vols fell to Alabama by 10 points following the conclusion of the USC-Auburn game, and leading scorer Jordan Horston left the game with an elbow injury in the fourth quarter. The loss adds pressure to the Vols in their trip to Colonial Life Arena. Should the Vols also lose to South Carolina, they lose a shot at the SEC regular-season title.
This year’s SEC tournament is March 2-6 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Next South Carolina women’s basketball game
Who: No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks (24-1, 12-1 SEC) vs. No. 12 Tennessee Lady Volunteers (21-4, 10-2 SEC)
When: Sunday at 1 p.m.
Where: Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.
Watch: ABC
This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 8:38 PM.
