MINNEAPOLIS — At the end of the third quarter, as the clock ticked down, Aliyah Boston took matters into her own hands.
Her No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks had a six-point lead over the Louisville Cardinals—enough to offer a bit of separation, perhaps, but certainly not enough to feel comfortable. With eight seconds left in the quarter, South Carolina guard Destanni Henderson tried a jumper from the corner, hoping to push the lead to nine. She missed. And then Boston did what she has so often this season. She grabbed the rebound in traffic, rising above the tangle of arms under the basket in one crisp motion. She got the layup and the whistle, too, then walked to the line for the and-one. Swish. There was that nine-point lead, after all.
And as soon as they were back out on the floor? Again: On the first play of the fourth quarter, there was Boston, grabbing the offensive board after a missed jumper from a teammate and turning it into a successful layup. She’d just stretched the lead to double digits. The Gamecocks would not look back. Against one of the fiercest teams in the country, South Carolina cruised to a 72–59 win, and its first trip to the national championship since 2017.
