South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston passes the ball as Tennessee’s Alexus Dye, left, and Tess Darby pressure during the second half of the Gamecocks’ 67-53 win on Sunday in Columbia, South Carolina. Tracy Glantz/The State via the Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Aliyah Boston had 16 points and 12 rebounds to match the Southeastern Conference mark of 19 straight double-doubles and No. 1 South Carolina clinched a share of the league title with a 67-53 victory over No. 12 Tennessee.
Boston tied the mark of LSU great Sylvia Fowles accomplished 15 years ago and the Gamecocks (25-1, 13-1 SEC) won their 13th straight to lock up the No. 1 seed in the league tournament in two weeks.
Boston, with her Tennessee orange braids, stole the show with her latest dominant performance. She had eight points and eight rebounds at the half, then hit a driving basket for her 10th point. Three minutes later, Boston collected her own miss for the 10th rebound as the crowd of 18,000-plus cheered.
Tennessee (21-6, 10-4) was still in it, though, down 44-36 after Rae Burrell’s bucket midway through the third quarter.
That’s when Destanni Henderson, honored as a South Carolina senior at her final regular-season home game, rushed up the court for layups on consecutive possessions. Freshman Saniya Rivers stole a pass near midcourt and went in for a layup to put the Gamecocks up 50-38.
The Lady Vols could not respond, losing for the fifth time in eight games since rising to No. 4 in the rankings. Tennessee played its first game without top scorer and rebounder Jordan Horston, who suffered a fractured dislocation of her left elbow in a loss to Alabama this past Thursday.
(2) STANFORD 66, OREGON 62: Haley Jones scored 18 points and the second-ranked Cardinal (23-3, 14-0 Pac-12) rallied in the fourth quarter to remain undefeated in the Pac-12 with a win over the Ducks (18-9, 10-5) in Eugene, Oregon.
Jones made a layup while falling to the ground and added a free throw with 36.4 seconds left to put the Cardinal up 63-60. Stanford hung on for its 15th straight win.
Te-Hina Paopao had 23 points, including four 3-pointers, for Oregon.
(3) LOUISVILLE 70, (23) VIRGINIA TECH 56: Hailey Van Lith scored 20 points to lead the Cardinals (23-3, 14-2 ACC) to a victory over the Hokies (20-7, 12-4) in Louisville, Kentucky.
Coming off a one-point loss Thursday at No. 22 North Carolina, the Cardinals dominated from the start. They led 13-4 less than five minutes into the contest and never trailed against the Hokies.
Van Lith, a sophomore guard, made 8-of-17 shots and committed just one turnover.
(5) NORTH CAROLINA STATE 95, SYRACUSE 53: Kayla Jones scored a season-high 18 points and the Wolfpack (25-3, 16-1 ACC) clinched a share of the ACC regular season conference title for the first time since 1990 with a win over the Orange (11-15, 4-12) in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Jakia Brown-Turner added 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Wolfpack (25-3, 16-1 ACC). Elissa Cunane had 14 points and nine rebounds.
N.C. State ran away from Syracuse early by jumping out to a 28-6 lead in the first quarter. Jones had eight points in that span.
WASHINGTON STATE 72, (8) ARIZONA 67: Johanna Teder scored 21 points, including seven in the final two minutes, and the Cougars (18-8, 10-5 Pac-12) beat the Wildcats (19-5, 9-5) in Pullman, Washington.
(9) MICHIGAN 71, (13) MARYLAND 59: Naz Hillmon had 29 points and 11 rebounds to help the Wolverines (21-4, 12-3 Big Ten) take over first place in the Big Ten with a victory over the Terrapins (20-7, 12-4) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Laila Phelia contributed 11 points, five rebounds and six assists for the Wolverines (21-4, 12-3 Big Ten). It was the Wolverines’ second win over the Terrapins this season, also beating Maryland 69-49 on Jan. 16.
(10) UCONN 90, GEORGETOWN 49: Christyn Williams scored 19 points to lead the Huskies (19-5, 13-1 Big East) to a rout of the Hoyas (7-17, 2-14) in Hartford, Connecticut.
Azzi Fudd scored all 12 of her points in the first half and Nika Muhl added 11 for the Huskies, who won their fourth straight since having the program’s almost nine-year conference winning streak snapped by Villanova.
Mary Clougherty had 15 points to lead Georgetown, which has lost their last 31 meetings with the Huskies.
(11) LSU 66, FLORIDA 61: Alexis Morris scored eight of her 20 points in the final 38 seconds, Autumn Newby added 13 points and the Tigers (23-4, 11-3 SEC) beat the Gators (20-7, 10-4) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to take sole possession of second in the Southeastern Conference with a week remaining in the regular season.
Top-ranked South Carolina beat No. 12 Tennessee to earn at least a share of the regular season conference title. The Lady Vols and No. 17 Florida (20-7, 10-4) are tied for third, a game behind LSU (23-4, 11-3).
(14) TEXAS 67, WEST VIRGINIA 58: Rori Harmon scored 19 points with eight rebounds, seven assists, three steals and a block to lead the Lornhorns (19-6, 9-5 Big 12) to a win over the Mountaineers (11-13, 4-10) in Morgantown, West Virginia.
DeYona Gaston added 13 points and Audrey Warren 11 for the Longhorns, who won their fourth straight.
MIAMI 51, (16) GEORGIA TECH 39: Karla Erjavec had 12 points, Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi added 10, and the Hurricanes (16-10, 9-7 ACC) defeated the Yellow Jackets (19-8, 10-6) in Atlanta, the Hurricanes’ fourth win in eight days.
(18) OHIO STATE 59, WISCONSIN 42: Jacy Sheldon scored 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting and the Buckeyes (20-5, 12-4 Big Ten) cruised to a win over the Badgers (7-9, 4-12) in Columbus, Ohio.
AUBURN 65, (21) GEORGIA 60: Honesty Scott-Grayson scored 23 points with five steals and the Tigers (10-15, 2-12 SEC) scored the last 11 points of the game to upset the Bulldogs (18-8, 7-7) in Auburn, Alabama.
After Jenna Staiti’s layup put Georgia on top 60-54 with 7:16 to play, the Bulldogs missed their last 11 shots and had six turnovers.
(24) NORTH CAROLINA 64, FLORIDA STATE 49: Deja Kelly scored 26 points, Alyssa Utsby added 12 points and 10 rebounds, and the Tar Heels (21-5, 11-5 ACC) defeated the Seminoles (14-12, 8-8) in Tallahassee, Florida.
Kennedy Todd-Williams scored 10 points for the Tar Heels and Anya Poole grabbed 13 rebounds. For Utsby, it was her 12th double-double this season.
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(5) PURDUE 84, RUTGERS 72: Jaden Ivey scored 25 points, Zach Edey added 15 points and the Boilermakers (24-4, 13-4 Big Ten) beat the Scarlet Knights (16-10, 10-6) in West Lafayette, Indiana, ending the Scarlet Knights’ recent run of success against ranked teams.
Rutgers had won its last four games, all against teams in the Top 25. The Scarlet Knights also had beaten Purdue in December.
(8) PROVIDENCE 71, BUTLER 70: Jared Bynum made two free throws with 38 seconds left in overtime and the Friars (22-4, 12-2 Big East) rallied from a 19-point deficit to beat the Bulldogs (13-15, 6-11) in Indianapolis.
Down 43-24 early in the second half and still trailing by seven points with 2 1/2 minutes left in regulation, the Friars pulled off the comeback.
(14) HOUSTON 76, WICHITA STATE 74: J’Wan Roberts’ dunk with 1.3 seconds remaining in double overtime gave the Cougars (22-4, 11-2 American) a stirring victory over the Shockers (13-10, 4-7) in Wichita, Kansas.
It was Roberts’ only basked of the game and followed Wichita State’s Craig Porter hitting a tying 3-point shot with 5.4 seconds remaining in the second overtime.
(15) WISCONSIN 77, MICHIGAN 63: Michigan Coach Juwan Howard appeared to throw a punch after arguing with Wisconsin Coach Greg Gard during the postgame handshake line following the Badgers’ victory in Madison, Wisconsin.
It was unclear what upset Howard, but Wisconsin (21-5, 12-4 Big Ten) was up 15 when it took a timeout with 15 seconds left.
After the game, Howard pointed a finger at Gard. Later on, Howard appeared to take a swing toward Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft, and players from each side got involved in the skirmish.
(17) SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 62, WASHINGTON STATE 60: Boogie Ellis hit a 16-foot jumper from the foul line with 0.2 seconds left to give The Trojans (23-4, 12-4 Pac-12) a comeback victory over the Cougars (14-12, 7-8) in Los Angeles.
Washington State had a 60-57 advantage before USC scored the final five points. Max Agbonkpolo hit a 3-pointer to tie it with 2:15 remaining.
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