GAMEDAY Womens Basketball
South Carolina 81, Maryland 56
(AP Photo/Gail Burton)
By NOAH TRISTER
AP Sports Writer
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Aliyah Boston had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Zia Cooke added 18 points to lift No. 1 South Carolina to an 81-56 victory over No. 17 Maryland.
Shortly after the Indiana Fever won the WNBA draft lottery - with Boston expected to be the No. 1 pick - the South Carolina star led her team to a fairly routine victory in its first real test of the season. The defending champions held off a gritty Maryland team that was playing without its own potential lottery pick. Diamond Miller was out with a right knee injury.
Abby Meyers scored 21 points to lead Maryland (1-1), but aside from her ability to score from the midrange and beyond the arc, the undersized Terrapins had a tough time offensively. Perhaps no stat summed up this game better than the Gamecocks' 11-0 advantage in blocked shots.
South Carolina was playing its first of four consecutive road games, and this win makes it almost certain that a Nov. 20 clash at Stanford will be a 1 vs. 2 matchup.
Maryland packed its defense into the paint to deal with the 6-foot-4 Boston, and the Terps were down just six at halftime, 32-26. The margin was still in single digits in the third before South Carolina (2-0) went on an 11-1 run to lead 56-39.
Kamilla Cardoso, the Gamecocks' 6-7 reserve, scored a pair of baskets during that run, sandwiched around a 3-pointer by Cooke. Cardoso finished with 13 points.
BIG PICTURE
South Carolina: The Gamecocks showed good patience on the road - at times Maryland was practically daring them to shoot from the perimeter instead of working the ball inside. South Carolina did make enough 3-pointers (eight) to make the Terps pay for leaving shooters open.
Maryland: The Terps played a scrappy game, forcing 20 turnovers, and this was an encouraging performance without Miller in the first half. Meyers, a star at Princeton last season, is one of a handful of transfers Maryland brought in as part of a roster makeover. She scored 14 of the team's first 17 points to help the Terps keep it close for a while.
MILESTONE
Boston tied Tiffany Mitchell for the program record with her 103rd consecutive start.
November 11, 2022
| South Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| A. Boston | F | 30 | 7-8 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 4-13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
| V. Saxton | F | 19 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Z. Cooke | G | 28 | 4-14 | 6-7 | 4-9 | 0-1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 18 |
| B. Beal | G | 27 | 3-7 | 0-0 | 3-7 | 1-8 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| R. Johnson | G | 16 | 0-6 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 0-3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Amihere | 19 | 4-9 | 1-2 | 1-4 | 5-8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 10 | |
| K. Fletcher | 18 | 0-5 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 1-3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| K. Cardoso | 13 | 6-7 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 4-5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 13 | |
| S. Feagin | 11 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| T. Cooper | 7 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| B. Hall | 7 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| A. Watkins | 6 | 2-3 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | |
| Totals | 201 | 30-68 (.441) |
13-16 (.813) |
8-28 (.286) |
18-55 | 20 | 11 | 6 | 20 | 19 | 81 | |
| Maryland | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| F. Masonius | F | 28 | 1-4 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 1-5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| A. Meyers | G | 38 | 9-23 | 1-2 | 2-6 | 1-6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 21 |
| L. Briggs | G | 31 | 1-8 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 1-4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| E. Pinzan | G | 24 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| S. Sellers | G | 23 | 4-10 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 0-5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| B. Alexander | 24 | 2-4 | 2-2 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 7 | |
| G. Cooke | 16 | 2-8 | 3-4 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | |
| B. McDaniel | 13 | 0-6 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| M. Reynolds | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | 200 | 20-66 (.303) |
10-14 (.714) |
6-20 (.300) |
11-32 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 56 | |
Officials: Felicia Grinter, Michael McConnell, Cameron Inouye
Attendance: 9,244
