Pete Iacobelli
Associated Press
COLUMBIA – Dawn Staley was hoping to bring South Carolina star Aaliyah Boston back to play strong and win another double-double. Mission half accomplished.
Camila Cardoso scored 16 points and Boston had 13 and 9 rebounds to give the top-ranked Gamecocks a 13th straight victory over Auburn, 94-42, on Thursday night.
A big part of Staley’s game plan was to make her star player play like a star again after Boston posted single-digit points and rebounds in South Carolina’s first two SEC games.
Boston played just 19 minutes in a 76-34 win over Texas A&M, and four defenders swarmed Georgia in the Gamecocks’ 68-51 victory on Monday.
“We made a concerted effort to get her to have the ball and to have all the post players to have the ball,” Staley said. “And it worked tonight.”
Boston connected in five of seven attempts, including her first 3-pointer of the season. sought a rebound.
“Yes,” Staley said.
Part of Boston’s near misses may have been teammates’ success under the basket. There were eight gamecocks with 3 or more rebounds, including 5-foot-9 Kiera Fletcher with five boards.
“I love rebounding,” Fletcher said. “Me and Aaliyah always joke that I’m stealing rebounds from the post,” said the player.
The Gamecocks (15-0, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) went on a 21-game winning streak to clinch the NCAA Tournament title last season.
Victoria Saxton scored 12 points and Gia Cook posted a career-high 31 in her victory in Georgia last Monday.
Boston finished with four of the team’s nine blocked shots.
South Carolina continued to pour it in after taking control, leading by 32 points in the half and 44 points after three quarters.
Auburn coach Johnny Harris said South Carolina has multiple ways to attack opponents.
“If they’re all on and they’re attacking, there’s not much you can do about it,” she said.
Aisha Koulibaly had 16 points (10-5, 0-3) leading Auburn, who have not beaten the Gamecocks since their 53-49 home win in January 2012.
big picture
Auburn: The Tigers were without leading scorer Honesty Scott Grayson, who missed three straight games through injury. Without his 15 points per game for Scott Grayson, Auburn couldn’t hope to stay close to powerhouse Gamecocks.
South Carolina: One of the top rebounding teams in the nation, the Gamecocks captured just eight boards on the offensive grass to Auburn’s twelve. Part of the reason is 36 out of 57 shots (63{ea2cba5bdf6fe62bbe85e24807814144a71e77d3ae7311fbc27a008558d1372c}).
growth of fletcher
Keira Fletcher was brought in to give South Carolina experience when last year’s starter Destanni Henderson moved to the WNBA. Fletcher believes she feels better every time she goes out. Along with her five rebounds, Fletcher recorded five assists and just one turnover in 20 minutes. She also received a text from her father about her improved play: “He said I seemed to be playing more calmly, too,” she said.
next
Auburn is back home and will face rivals Alabama on Sunday.
South Carolina kicks off a two-game road trip in Mississippi on Sunday.
