South Carolina women's basketball dominates Kentucky 87-69, Aliyah Boston gets 15th double-double

COLUMBIA — South Carolina women's basketball added another victory to its nation-leading win streak, dominating Kentucky 87-69 at Colonial Life Arena on Thursday.

The No. 1 Gamecocks (22-0, 10-0 SEC) picked up their second win of the season over the Wildcats (10-12, 2-8) after beating them 95-66 in Lexington, Kentucky, on Jan. 12. In front of the home crowd, South Carolina was just as dominant, led by 14 points and 14 rebounds from star forward Aliyah Boston. Boston also logged two steals and three blocks.

The double-double was Boston's 15th of the season and puts her just 11 away from tying the SEC career double-double record. Kamilla Cardoso also put up 14 points and logged a team-high five blocks. South Carolina finished with 14 total blocks, nearly tying the program record of 15 blocks in an SEC game.

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Brea Beal has another offensive breakout

Senior guard Brea Beal had her second-highest scoring performance of the season, putting up 10 points and shooting 3-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-5 from beyond the 3-point arc. Usually a defensive specialist for the Gamecocks, Beal was all over the court with four rebounds — three defensive, one offensive — an assist and a block.

Beal was also one of just two players that never turned the ball over in a game where South Carolina had 18 turnovers. The Gamecocks' season high in turnovers was 20 against both Clemson and Maryland.

3-point struggles persist

For the second straight game, leading scorer Zia Cooke failed to score double-digit points, putting up nine points while shooting 22% from the field and 0-of-3 on 3-pointers. Beal made the team's only two 3-pointers as the Gamecocks went 2-of-12 beyond the arc.

South Carolina ranks 149th in 3-point percentage among Division I programs this season, and Kentucky's defense exploited the weakness as many opponents have by packing the paint and forcing the Gamecocks into perimeter shots. Still, Kentucky lacked the size and physicality to truly hold South Carolina outside, and the team finished with 62 of its points in the paint.

Gamecocks control Kentucky's sharpshooters

The first time South Carolina and Kentucky met this season, Oregon transfer Maddie Scherr dominated for the Wildcats with 25 points, shooting 10-of-15 from the field and 5-of-7 from three. On Thursday, Scherr was held to 11 points with eight of those coming on free throws. She shot just 1-of-10 from the field.

The Gamecocks gave up 24 points to guard Robyn Benton, but it was largely because of free throws rather than actual defensive breakdowns. Kentucky scored 25 points total on free throws shooting 96.2% from the field, and Benton went 13-of-14 at the line. Blair Green was the Wildcats' top scorer from the field with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina women's basketball routs Kentucky 87-69 in SEC rematch